Disinformation campaign of the Russian Federation during the annexation of the Crimea and Donbas

The article highlights the general trends in the functioning of Russian propaganda resources during the disinformation campaign against Ukraine in the period of annexation of Crimea and Donbas.The purpose is to study the functioning of Russian propaganda media in the context of spreading anti-Ukrainian narratives not only in Russia itself, but also abroad and in the occupied territories during the hybrid war of 2014-2022.Methodology.The research was carried out in an interdisciplinary manner, combining the tools of history, political science, social psychology and other scientific fields, as well as the relevant terminology.Scientific novelty.The article attempts to study the activities of Russian propaganda and the spread of their influence not only on the domestic Russian consumer, but also on foreign audiences during the capture and occupation of Crimea and Donbas by Russian troops.New facts and data on the specifics of the Kremlin's information war against Ukraine are presented.Conclusions.As a result of the study, it was found that the Russian propaganda apparatus played a significant role in Russia's information confrontation against Ukraine and the world during the events of 2014.In particular, the Russian media deliberately broadcast disinformation about the rise to power in Ukraine of ultranationalists and Nazis who pose a significant threat not only to Russia but also to the whole world.Such narratives were used by the military and political leadership of the Russian Federation to justify first a hybrid and then a fullscale war against Ukraine.The practice of involving so-called "foreign experts" in the propaganda activities of the Russian media has become quite widespread, with the aim of showing that Russian policy has serious support among "unbiased" professionals.Deliberate distortion of reality and presentation of the image of Ukraine as a terrorist country that poses a threat to global security was used by Russian propaganda to try to justify its occupation of Crimea and Donbas by the need of "protection" of the civilian population of these territories from the genocide from Kyiv.Despite the fact that this motivation for the Kremlin's actions has not been recognized by the international community, it is still used by Russian propaganda.Members of youth paramilitary organizations created in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine have become one of the targets of information influence.Despite all the measures taken by the international community and special initiatives taken by YouTube and Facebook to block Russian sources of disinformation, its role in the global public space as of 2024 is still significant.