Shifting responsibility for strikes through an “escalation” frame

What it claims

Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities are presented as a response that Ukraine itself caused by striking targets in Russia. Military action and attacks on infrastructure are reduced to a single line of “escalation,” in which Kyiv is assigned a choice between resistance and civilian safety. Memories of shelling in Donetsk are presented as proof that responsibility for suffering can be divided between the sides.

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.

• Strikes on Russian oil refineries supposedly removed the limits that had restrained attacks on Ukrainian cities.

  ЗеРада, 29 Sept 2026 · Archived copy

• A Kyiv resident should understand shelling because people in Donetsk had previously endured the same thing from the Ukrainian side.

  ЗеРада, 29 Sept 2026

  t.me/ZeRada1/32435

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Goal

To persuade Ukrainian civilians and military personnel to see resistance and strikes on Russian targets as the cause of danger to civilians, and Russian attacks as an inevitable response.

Techniques used

• Causal OversimplificationStrikes on Ukrainian cities are explained through Ukrainian attacks on Russian facilities and presented as their direct consequence.
• WhataboutismA Kyiv resident’s account of explosions is pushed aside with a recollection of shelling at a hospital in Donetsk.

The real grievance it exploits

Fear for loved ones during strikes, exhaustion from the war, and the painful sense that any decision may bring new danger to civilians.

How to counter

• Technique exposure: A chain of “retaliatory strikes” does not establish responsibility for a specific attack. It erases the distinction between the decision to strike and the explanation used to justify that decision.
• Reframe: Responsibility for a specific strike should be assessed by who carried it out, not through a general scheme of reciprocal military actions.

Sources (all time)

• ЗеРадаTier 1425,211 subscribers
  2 posts · 29 Sept 2026

  • 29 Sept · Archived copy
  • 29 Sept · t.me/ZeRada1/32435
• Open Ukraine| Открытая УкраинаTier 1180,976 subscribers
  1 post · 13 Sept 2026

  • 13 Sept · t.me/OpenUkraine/102371