The acting governor of Russia's Kursk region, Khinshtein, claimed that 17 cultural heritage sites were damaged in Rylsk on December 22 due to missile strikes, accusing the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). “The Nazi regime is trying to destroy not only peaceful residents but also our historical and cultural heritage…”, he stated.

This was reported by the Centre for Strategic Communication and Information Security. Its experts found that the scale of the damage Khinshtein described appears minimal, with the circumstances surrounding the alleged incidents remaining unconfirmed. In contrast, Russia is actively destroying Ukraine's cultural heritage. As of December 2024, 1,222 damaged landmarks have been recorded across 18 regions of Ukraine. In November alone, Russia carried out 43 new strikes on such sites, including in the Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, and Khmelnytskyi regions. The Kharkiv region suffered damage to 322 such objects, while the Kyiv region and the city of Kyiv recorded 81. The most high-profile incident occurred on December 20, with the shelling of the St. Nicholas Catholic Cathedral in Kyiv. Ukraine is demanding an international investigation into these acts of cultural vandalism, which constitute violations of international law.

Russia spreads such disinformation for several reasons. First, it seeks to divert attention from the destruction it inflicts on Ukrainian cultural heritage by accusing Ukraine instead. This helps create an illusion of moral equivalence between the aggressor and the victim. Baseless accusations of damage to cultural objects aim to undermine the reputation of the Ukrainian military internationally and domestically. Russian propaganda appeals to emotions by exploiting themes of cultural heritage to mobilize support among its population. This disinformation also serves to justify Russia’s aggressive actions as “defending” its historical legacy. Moreover, such narratives are intended to sow doubt within the international community about the credibility of Ukraine's accusations of war crimes against Russia.