Eastern Europe

Screencap of a video posted to Facebook on September 18, 2023, showing troops participating in a military exercise in Moldova. (Source: Andrei Dobrovolschii)

Tue, Nov 28, 2023

Pro-Kremlin actors amplify video to target multinational military exercises in Moldova

A video featuring a local Moldovan farmer accosting military personnel participating in multinational exercise was used as a pretext to attack the West

by Victoria Olari, Eto Buziashvili

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe

Thu, Sep 28, 2023

Russian War Report: Competing claims about the possible death of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet commander

Following an attack by Ukrainian forces on the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, rumors swirled about the potential death of Russian Admiral Viktor Sokolov.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Conflict Geolocation
UN Security Council meets about Ukraine at UN HQ in New York

Thu, Sep 21, 2023

Russian War Report: Black Sea military operations approach NATO countries’ waters

Plus, Zelenskyy expresses frustration at the UN, Russia seems unlikely to block YouTube, and the US drops new sanctions.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Conflict Drones
Marina Tauber, leader of the opposition pro-Russian political party Shor, delivers a speech during a hearing of the Constitutional Court in Chisinau, Moldova, June 19, 2023. (Source: Reuters/Vladislav Culiomza)

Tue, Jul 11, 2023

Inauthentic Facebook campaign promoted pro-Russian Shor Party messaging in Moldova

The campaign sponsored ads in support of convicted oligarch Ilan Shor and used fake accounts to target Moldova's pro-European government

by Victoria Olari, Iain Robertson

Disinformation Eastern Europe
BANNER: A Russian MiG-31 fighter jet equipped with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile flies over Moscow's Red Square during a rehearsal for a flyover, part of an annual military parade marking the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, May 7, 2022. (Source: Reuters/Maxim Shemetov)

Fri, Jun 23, 2023

Ongoing Russian-Belarusian drills keep up the pressure on northern Ukraine

Joint military drills repeatedly extended by Russia and Belarus put Ukraine’s northern border within missile range

by Valentin Châtelet

Belarus Conflict
A Russian serviceman walks past the Operational Group of Russian Forces headquarters in Tiraspol, in Moldova's self-proclaimed separatist Transnistria, November 3, 2021. The banner reads "Army of Russia." REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Mon, Mar 20, 2023

Russia builds a “special information operation” around Transnistria

Rhetoric increasingly pushes idea of military conflict in the separatist region of Moldova

by Victoria Olari

Conflict Defense Policy
A protester wrapped in a Georgian national flag raises hands while standing in front of law enforcement officers during a rally against the "foreign agents" law in Tbilisi, Georgia, March 7, 2023. REUTERS/Zurab Javakhadze

Tue, Mar 14, 2023

How the Kremlin misrepresented a video to claim Georgian protesters seek war with Russia

Footage from a protest in Tbilisi was presented with false context to accuse protesters of seeking war in the Russian-occupied Georgian region of Abkhazia

by Sopo Gelava

Conflict Disinformation
Participants protest against a draft law on “foreign agents” during a rally outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, March 8, 2023. (Source: Reuters/Irakli Gedenidze)

Fri, Mar 10, 2023

The Kremlin and Georgian Dream spread similar narratives about protests in Georgia

Narratives attempt to discredit protesters, blame the West for public dissent

by Eto Buziashvili, Sopo Gelava

Civil Society Corruption
Participants walk past a screen displaying the RUTUBE logo at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg, Russia ,June 17, 2022. (Source: Reuters/Anton Vaganov)

Mon, Jan 30, 2023

How Russian YouTube copycat RUTUBE promotes pro-Kremlin narratives

RUTUBE’s mix of Kremlin narratives and entertainment has seen a surge of referral traffic since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Business Disinformation
Screenshot of an animated video produced by the Wagner Group showing soldiers fighting French 'zombies' in West Africa.

Fri, Jan 20, 2023

Russian War Report: Wagner Group fights French ‘zombies’ in cartoon propaganda

Plus, more on Wagner's power struggles with the Russian defense ministry and Russia's apparent use of incendiary munitions in Kherson.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Belarus Conflict
Original photo of the Polish PM, which was digitally altered and amplified on Telegram. (Source: @PremierRP/archive)

Fri, Dec 2, 2022

Russian War Report: Russian Telegram channel spreads digitally modified photo of Poland’s prime minister

Russian Telegram channels disseminated a manipulated photo showing Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at a monument during his visit to Ukraine.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Baltics Bulgaria
Protesters hold up their phones with flashlights lit during a protest in Warsaw, Poland on 17 October, 2022. Several hundred people gathered in front of the Iranian embassy to protest the supply of loitering Shahed drones to Russia. Russia is using the Iranian manufactured drones to attack Ukraine. Several dozen people have already died and critical infrastructure damaged in major cities after use of the Shahed drones by Russia. (Photo by Jaap Arriens / Sipa USA) (Photo by STR/NurPhoto)NO USE FRANCE

Fri, Oct 21, 2022

Russian War Report: Wagner sends vehicles to Kherson while Iran increases military support

Wagner Group has been reported in Ukraine assisting Russian forces in fighting and fortifying positions in the Donbas.

by Digital Forensic Research Lab

Balkans Belarus
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