Russia is trying to legitimize this narrative in the information space, because it is becoming increasingly difficult to explain the protracted nature of hostilities to Russians, writes the Center for Countering Disinformation. The point is that one of the first theses that Russia is at war with the whole world was voiced by Major General of the Russian Federation Minnekaev at the end of April. He compared the "special operation" to World War II, noting that "both then and now the whole world has turned against Russia." Later, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that "NATO has entered into a proxy war with Russia," while Russian State Duma Speaker Volodin suggested that the leaders of the countries supplying weapons to Ukraine should be prosecuted as war criminals.