The Kremlin spews a smokescreen of FIMI over drones in Poland

As the Kremlin spews disinformation narratives attacking Ukraine and the European Union, Russia also conducts drone operations against Ukraine, with some drones crossing into EU and NATO member states such as Poland.

Such was the case last week. The night of 9 September, some two dozen Russian drones penetrated Polish airspace before they crash-landed or NATO air defences brought them down.

Then the rhetorical assault began, as a Russian FIMI campaign disgorged disinformation narratives about the incursions. The tactic, as usual, was to say anything, everywhere, all at the once, as long as what was said served to deny and distract from Russian responsibility. Let’s have a look at the main lines of attack.

Nothing happened and we didn’t do it

Some pro-Russian commentators asserted that little, if anything, had actually happened. Pro-Russian commentator Alexander Dugin, for example, claimed, ‘There was nothing at all. Fragments, debris, explosions… And the Poles panicked.’ For his part, Vladimir Soloviev mocked Poland’s deployment of Patriots as owing to the incursions of ‘just three or four drones’.

Others tried more technical arguments, such as the notion that Russian drones only have a range of 700 kilometers, so they could not have reached Poland. In fact, the drones were modified to carry extra fuel tanks, giving them more range. Faced with conflicting claims and denials, one must ask, which version of the truth are we supposed to believe?

More generally, outlets and commentators fell back on the claim that Polish or EU authorities had provided ‘no evidence’ that the drones belonged to Russia. In fact, reports showing downed Russian Gerbera drones were plentiful.

‘They’ did it

‘They’ refers to the Kremlin’s list of usual suspects that it blames for aggressive acts or atrocities that its own forces have committed. So maybe Ukraine did it. Perhaps they tried to carry out a ‘provocation’ to drag Poland into the war against Russia. Or maybe Poland did it, attempting another provocation to drag NATO into the war. Or perhaps the whole thing was a secret Western operation intended to sabotage peace talks, or even provoke the United States into entering the war.

So many provocations, so little time. But you get the drift: deny the obvious while pointing the finger of blame at anyone around you.

And in Romania, here we go again

A few days later, a Russian drone breached Romanian airspace in what Romanian authorities believe was likely an intentional act. And surprise, surprise: pro-Russian outlets followed the same disinfo script: the drone was Ukrainian, Ukraine launched it to turn European countries against Russia, there’s no evidence the drone was Russian, Romania only protested the drone’s presence after NATO told it to do so, and so on.

The Romanian Ministry of Defence has confirmed(opens in a new tab) that the drone was Russian. But pro-Kremlin disinformation asserts that maybe the Romanian army messed up and is now trying to blame Russia.

Just as Russia’s drones circle European skies, so too do its disinformation narratives, always veering between denial, distraction, and deceit, seeking to obscure the Kremlin’s hand while the truth, much like the drones themselves, is impossible to ignore.

Don’t be deceived.

---

Article and pictures first time published on the EUvsDisinfo web page. Prepared for publication by volunteers from the Res Publica - The Center for Civil Resistance.