Attributing war crimes to Ukraine through scenarios of strikes on Russian airports

What it claims

Scenarios of strikes on Russian airports are presented as pre-planned war crimes against civilian aviation. A reference to Der Spiegel is paired with predictions of air disasters and disruptions to aviation systems. An anonymous account of a leadership discussion is stretched into evidence of Kyiv’s chosen “strategy of escalation.”

Target audience

Examples (paraphrased)

We paraphrase rather than quote: propaganda's exact wording is built to spread, so we carry the claim and not the craft. Each example cites the post it came from.

• Budanov opposes a plan to strike airports, but Zelenskyy insists on escalation despite the risk of retaliatory strikes on bridges across the Dnipro.

  Резидент, 2 Sept 2026 · Archived copy

• Zelenskyy seeks to paralyse Russia’s civilian air traffic, and drone strikes on airports could cause disasters and amount to a war crime.

  Резидент, 3 Sept 2026 · Archived copy

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Goal

To foster the impression among Western audiences that Ukraine is prepared to knowingly endanger civilian passengers and violate international law, thereby weakening support for its defence.

Techniques used

• Appeal to AuthorityA reference to a German outlet is used to give legal speculation the weight of an external assessment.
• Appeal to Fear / PrejudicePotential strikes are linked to images of air disasters, passenger deaths, and disruptions to air-traffic-control systems.

The real grievance it exploits

Concern for civilian passengers’ safety, the risk of the war expanding, and the need for military action to comply with international humanitarian law.

How to counter

• Technique exposure: Separate a described scenario from an established fact: assumptions about the consequences of a strike prove neither the existence of a specific plan nor its legal classification.
• Reframe: Civilian safety and humanitarian-law rules require scrutiny of specific targets, circumstances, and consequences—not conclusions drawn from predictions of the worst-case scenario.

Sources (all time)

• РезидентTier 1920,215 subscribers
  2 posts · 2–3 Sept 2026

  • 3 Sept · Archived copy
  • 2 Sept · Archived copy