EU Digital Communication in Times of Hybrid Warfare: The Case of Russia and Ukraine on X

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022 triggered a series of dramatic events with both humanitarian and informational repercussions. In this context, social media became saturated with rhetorical strategies and narrative framing from civil society, European media, and EU institutions alike. This paper examines how the European Union communicated institutionally during the first year of the war, focusing on the online activity of the three main EU bodies—the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the European Council—and their respective presidents: Ursula von der Leyen, Roberta Metsola, and Charles Michel. The study centres on their use of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), analysing the content of their posts related to the conflict. In addition, several in-depth interviews were conducted with experts in EU institutional communication and disinformation on social media to complement the analysis and offer a broader perspective on the communicative strategies employed.