Russia has launched a large-scale disinformation campaign attempting to justify mass strikes on Kyiv's civilian and cultural objects, the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation (CPD) has announced. Russian sources are using a classic scenario by attempting to disguise outright terror against civilians as "strikes on military targets" or shifting blame to Ukraine itself, the CPD said.
The disinformation campaign follows a pattern Ukrainian authorities have documented after previous Russian strikes on cultural and civilian targets. The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage site dating back to 1051, is protected under the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the Geneva Convention Additional Protocol I, Article 53.
Russian information operations following strikes on Ukrainian civilian targets have followed predictable patterns since 2022.
Five Russian disinformation tactics CPD identified
The CPD documented five specific Russian disinformation tactics deployed after the Kyiv strikes.
- The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra fire is called "Ukrainian provocation" or "self-arson."
- Russian conspiracy theories blame Ukrainian authorities for the strike on the Higher Anti-Corruption Court building.
- The Dovzhenko Film Studio is declared a "legitimate military target" by Russian propaganda because it is allegedly a "propaganda nest."
- False allegations claim Kyiv has weapons-production workshops disguised as civilian buildings — in Russian propagandists' framing, every Kyiv building is a "military object."
- And "Ukrainian air defense" is blamed for damage to civilian buildings, a standard Russian deflection tactic.
CPD's framing: Russia carries full responsibility
All responsibility for the death and injury of peaceful Kyiv residents, destruction of historical and civilian buildings lies exclusively with Russia, and it must be punished for this, the Center says.
"No manipulation, conspiracy theories, or attempts to grant civilian objects 'military status' will help the aggressor conceal another war crime," the CPD said in its statement.
The CPD's position represents the Ukrainian government's position.
Broader pattern: two documented Russian disinformation campaigns after cultural site strikes
Russian disinformation following strikes on Ukrainian cultural sites has followed predictable patterns since 2022. Two documented precedent cases illustrate the same tactics now being deployed against Kyiv.
After the 16 March 2022 Russian airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theater. Russia denied conducting the strike and claimed that Ukrainian soldiers had blown up the building themselves. An Associated Press investigation found that approximately 600 people died in the bombing, which makes it the deadliest single known attack on civilians in the war.
Amnesty International later concluded that the strike was a "clear war crime" conducted by two 500-kg bombs dropped from Russian fighter jets, ruling out alternative explanations.
After the 23 July 2023 Russian missile strike on the Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral, located within the UNESCO-protected historic center of Odesa, Russia's Defense Ministry denied targeting the cathedral and claimed the damage was caused by "the fall of a Ukrainian anti-aircraft guided missile," per Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
UNESCO condemned the strike as an "escalation of violence against the cultural heritage of Ukraine." The cathedral's assistant rector, Father Myroslav, confirmed a "direct hit to the cathedral" with three altars destroyed.
The pattern across the Mariupol Theater, Odesa Cathedral, and now Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra cases is consistent: Russia denies conducting the strike and attributes damage to Ukrainian air defense or self-inflicted destruction.
