Security & Defense

Footage shows the aftermath of the morning shelling in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Thursday Oct 6, 2022. 7 missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia! Destroyed residential buildings, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. Rescue workers are now combing through the shattered remains of one elegant five-storey apartment building. Zaporizhzhia regional head Oleksandr Starukh said one woman was killed. Another seven people, including a three-year-old child, were injured. The Ukrainian-held city is the capital of the eponymous Zaporizhzhia region, which Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this week declared annexed, along with three other Ukrainian regions - Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, and Kherson in the south. Ukraine and its Western allies condemned the move. Moscow does not fully control any of the four regions, and in recent weeks Ukrainian troops have made significant advances in the the country's north-east and south. (State Emergency Service of Ukraine via EYEPRESS)

Fri, Oct 7, 2022

Russian War Report: Ukraine recaptures territory as Russia uses Iranian drone near Kyiv

Russia has began its use of Iranian-made drones to try and slow the Ukrainian counter-offensive, a mass grave found near Lyman, and Russian Telegram praises the “pro-Russia” coup in Burkina Faso.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Africa Conflict
Ceremony to declare Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian territories held in Moscow

Fri, Sep 30, 2022

Russian War Report: Putin illegally annexes Ukrainian territory

On September 30, Russian President Putin officially annexed four Ukrainian oblasts, incorporating them into Russia. The announcement was met with swift global condemnation.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Screenshots show a post and advertisement from the Facebook page Winsome wc5, calling for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to be implemented.

Tue, Sep 27, 2022

Russia-based Facebook operation targeted Europe with anti-Ukraine messaging

A network of inauthentic assets uncovered by the DFRLab promoted Kremlin narratives in Germany, France, Italy, Ukraine, Latvia and the UK.

by Alyssa Kann, Daniel Suárez Pérez, Private: Mattia Caniglia, Private: Jean le Roux, Sopo Gelava, Roman Osadchuk, Nika Aleksejeva

Advertising Baltics

Thu, Sep 15, 2022

Notorious hate group website displayed prominently in Google search results

Google displays Patriot Front URL in search results sidebar despite blocking other racist website URLs from appearing there.

by Alyssa Kann

Electorate Extremism
Ukrainian soldiers on patrol, August 29, 2022. (Source: Latin America News Agency via Reuters Connect)

Fri, Sep 2, 2022

Russian War Report: Ukraine counterattacks in Kherson as Russia prepares new deployments

Ukrainian forces targeted Russian military command-and-control elements in northwestern Kherson, while Russian forces attempted a limited ground assault in the same area.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Polish MP Grzegorz Braun, second from the left, at the launch of a political initiative in Rzeszow, Poland, July 25, 2022. Braun’s Twitter account was among a handful of authentic accounts that sought to amplify the #StopUkrainizacjiPolski hashtag, which reached Poland’s Trending list largely through inauthentic amplification. (Source: Reuters, Artur Widak/NurPhoto)

Tue, Aug 30, 2022

Twitter campaign pushes anti-Ukraine hashtag into Poland’s trending list

Largely inauthentic campaign pushed #StopUkrainizacjiPolski to the top of Poland’s trending list over the course of four days.

by Givi Gigitashvili

Brigading Conflict
Smoke rises after explosions were heard from the direction of a Russian military airbase near Novofedorivka, Crimea, August 9, 2022. (Source: Reuters)

Fri, Aug 12, 2022

Russian War Report: Satellite imagery confirms destruction of aircraft at Crimea airbase

Satellite imagery confirms the destruction of Crimea's Saki airbase and debunking "Ukraine sells weapons" narratives.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Fri, Jul 29, 2022

Russian War Report: Russia minimizes Ukrainian damage of strategic bridge in Kherson

During a video speech on July 27, Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy stated that the Ukrainian military had disabled the Antonovsky bridge in Kherson to the point that was no longer usable by occupying Russian forces. The bridge has been targeted by Ukrainian forces for more than a week. While it remains standing, it has been hit multiple times by high-precision HIMARS munitions provided by the US.  

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Conflict Crisis Management

Fri, Jul 22, 2022

Russia War Report: Russia accuses Ukraine of creating ‘monster’ troops in biolabs

Russian officials are spreading the newest iteration of the conspiracy that suggests the United States is running secret biolabs in Ukraine, this time suggesting that Ukraine has created experimental “monster” troops.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Conflict Crisis Management

Fri, Jul 8, 2022

Wagner Group continues involvement in Russian operations in Eastern Ukraine

Russian mercenaries maintaining a relatively low profile in Ukraine, unlike their presence in Africa and Syria.

by Ruslan Trad

Africa Conflict

Thu, Jul 7, 2022

Russian War Report: Ukraine uses HIMARS effectively to hit Russian ammo dumps

As Russia continues its assault on Ukraine, the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) is keeping a close eye on Russia’s movements across the military, cyber, and information domains. With more than seven years of experience monitoring the situation in Ukraine—as well as Russia’s use of propaganda and disinformation to undermine the United States, NATO, and the European Union—the DFRLab’s global team presents the latest installment of the Russian War Report.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Conflict CrowdTangle
russia china lithuania mairupol

Fri, Jun 24, 2022

Russian War Report: Pro-Kremlin Russian outlet refers to Russian troops in Mariupol as ‘occupiers’ 

News outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets published an article that referred to Russian soldiers in Mariupol as "occupiers," but it was quickly deleted. Meanwhile, fires strike Russian oil and power plants, and Chinese media report on Russia-Lithuania dispute.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab