DISINFORMATION

Vladimir Kuznetsov, known as Vovan, and Alexei Stolyarov, who goes by Lexus, are known for pranking world leaders and celebrities. They have called many of them using fake aliases, often posing as Russian, Ukrainian, or Western politicians, publishing carefully selected excerpts on their social media accounts. Framed as comedy, their work is highly political, consistently reinforcing narratives favourable to Moscow. A shift after Crimea: targeting Ukraine and its allies Their

KEY EVENTS: Pro-Kremlin narratives attempted to discredit the parliamentary elections in Hungary and Bulgaria FIMI outlets engaged in nuclear fearmongering Messaging claimed that EU financial support to Ukraine prolongs the war Last week in review Pro-Kremlin information channels continued a months-long campaign targeting the 12 April elections in Hungary. The effort focused on discrediting the opposition party TISZA and its leader Péter Magyar, while accusing Ukraine and the

By Don Fontijn / Unsplash Despite suffering an estimated 1.2 million casualties in Ukraine since 2022, Russian forces continue to replenish their ranks at a pace that roughly matches battlefield losses. Attempts to explain this phenomenon by focusing on coercion or financial incentives are incomplete.  In fact, enlistment bonuses for soldiers have been reduced or eliminated across many Russian regions since 2025. Meanwhile, Ukrainian intelligence indicates that approximatel