Stoking fear of a NATO and US “hybrid war” against Russia

What it claims

Germany and the EU are portrayed as agency-free instruments of Washington, dragging Europe into a direct confrontation with Russia. This manipulation frames support for Ukraine not as a defence of international law, but as an aggressive NATO strategy that undermines the security of Germans themselves.

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.

• NATO and the European Union are waging a hybrid war against Russia, using Ukraine as a bridgehead for aggression.

  Russian Embassy in Berlin (X), 13 Jul 2026

  x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2076699496008856009

• European leaders have led their countries into a dead end by refusing dialogue with Moscow to please American interests.

  Russian Embassy in Berlin (X), 15 Jul 2026

  x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2077310364073574737

We link archived copies rather than the posts themselves, so that checking our work sends no traffic to the source. Where a platform cannot be archived, we print the post's address instead of linking it.

Goal

To undermine German public trust in the Bundestag's foreign policy and convince citizens that their government acts in US interests rather than Germany's.

Techniques used

• Appeal to Fear / PrejudiceUsing the term “hybrid war” to describe Western actions, implying the inevitability of a global conflict.
• Loaded LanguageUsing labels like “Kyiv regime” and “coalition of the willing” to delegitimise international support for Ukraine.

The real grievance it exploits

The manipulation exploits real German fears of war escalation and nuclear threats, as well as historically rooted scepticism regarding American influence in Europe.

How to counter

• Reframe: Assisting Ukraine is not a “hybrid war” but the fulfilment of international obligations to protect a state's sovereignty against unprovoked aggression, which aligns with Germany's national security interests.

Sources (all time)

• Russian Embassy in Berlin (X)Tier 264,257 followers
  9 posts · 13 Jul – 17 Aug 2026

  • 17 Aug · x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2089366647345917991
  • 12 Aug · x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2087450516280287477
  • 11 Aug · x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2087208694505185640
  • 21 Jul · x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2079482797450813541
  • 21 Jul · x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2079446276723396762
  • 15 Jul · x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2077338511842185290
  • 15 Jul · x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2077310364073574737
  • 13 Jul · x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2076699496008856009
  • 13 Jul · x.com/RusBotschaft/status/2076653305170673925
• Anti-Spiegel (website)Tier 1
  1 post · 9 Aug 2026

  • 9 Aug · anti-spiegel.ru/2026/die-kriegsgefahr-in-asien-und-die-rolle-der-usa-dabei/
• Anti-Spiegel (Thomas Röper)Tier 1122,978 subscribers
  3 posts · 12–15 Aug 2026

  • 15 Aug · t.me/antispiegel/15455
  • 13 Aug · t.me/antispiegel/15447
  • 12 Aug · t.me/antispiegel/15442
• News Front (German)Tier 1
  1 post · 19 Aug 2026

  • 19 Aug · de.news-front.su/2026/08/19/griechenland-ist-bei-der-frage-der-drohnenangriffe-auf-tanker-gezwungen-sich-an-der-position-der-eu-zu-orientieren-politologe-suslow/
• RT DETier 126,429 subscribers
  7 posts · 5–8 Aug 2026

  • 8 Aug · t.me/rt_de/80071
  • 7 Aug · t.me/rt_de/80038
  • 6 Aug · t.me/rt_de/80013
  • 6 Aug · t.me/rt_de/80008
  • 6 Aug · t.me/rt_de/80006
  • 6 Aug · t.me/rt_de/79983
  • 5 Aug · t.me/rt_de/79978