A few days ago, we all laughed at one of the Russian occupiers speaking on a cheap Russian talk show, telling viewers not particularly burdened with intellect that Ukraine was preparing a “surrogate” bomb to strike at Russia. What this guy meant by a “surrogate” bomb, only he knows, but the fact that this time, Russian propaganda, employing multiple platforms, is spinning a new fake story about an alleged threat of Ukraine using a “dirty” bomb is truly alarming.
Today, October 23, almost simultaneously, the main pool of Russian prominen government-run media (RIA Novosti, Russia Today, Izvestia) and dozens of smaller ones (URA.RU, RIA FAN, etc.) posted a news piece claiming Ukraine is plotting a terrorist attack involving a “dirty” bomb.
It is important to emphasize that the story is being circulated simultaneously by media outlets controlled by both the FSB and military intelligence. That is, this is not a psy-op developed by some particular intelligence agency, but rather something that’s been approved at the very top, which makes it worth paying particular attention to. It is possible that the Russian occupiers are actually developing some kind of a terrorist act, for which they will blame the Ukrainian authorities and claim it was aimed to compromise Russia.
Amid an ongoing fiasco in the war zone and the inability to influence the situation in any other way than by terrorizing the civilian population, Russia resorts to the tools of terror to exert pressure on the Ukrainian government. But this has already led to Russia already being internationally considered as a state sponsor of terrorism (although this recognition is for now non-public. So one more reckless step could formalize this status.
Over the entire period of the full-scale invasion, Russia has more than once tried to accuse Ukraine of its own crimes, which is a primitive technique. But on the other hand, Russia’s primitive propaganda, which is based on Nazi practices, only slightly modified during the Soviet period, simply has no other techniques worked out.
And therefore, it is possible that this mass reflection by Russian media platforms may be the result of preparations for a terrorist act, which will not remain without the attention of the international community. That is why, the primitive propaganda mechanism is being clumsily employed, again.