Framing official denials as a strategy of “plausible deniability”

What it claims

Official comments denying state involvement in assassination attempts are cast as a pre-planned cover story. Any explanations regarding the personal initiative or financial motivation of the perpetrators are inflated into evidence of the systemic use of intelligence services for eliminations. The absence of publicly named masterminds in ongoing investigations is passed off as a deliberate attempt by the leadership to hide the truth.

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.

• Claims that detained GUR and SBU agents acted independently for money are merely a convenient strategy for the authorities to deny their guilt.

  Анатолий Шарий, 20 Aug 2026

  t.me/ASupersharij/58959

• The Ukrainian state is trying to absolve itself of responsibility for the assassinations by calling the perpetrators “bad apples” and hiding the names of the real masterminds.

  Анатолий Шарий, 20 Aug 2026

  t.me/ASupersharij/58959

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Goal

Discredit Ukrainian intelligence services and the top state leadership by attributing terrorist methods to them.

Techniques used

• Loaded LanguageUse of ironic quotes (“it's all not the Ukrainian authorities,” “excellent strategy”) to devalue the official position.
• Obfuscation / Intentional VaguenessThe assertion that the absence of a named mastermind automatically proves state involvement.

The real grievance it exploits

Public anxiety over high-profile assassination attempts and the activities of intelligence services during wartime.

How to counter

• Technique exposure: Propaganda uses a “no-win situation” tactic: if the authorities remain silent, they are hiding the truth; if they comment, they are using a “denial strategy.”

Sources (all time)

• Анатолий ШарийTier 11,664,550 subscribers
  1 post · 20 Aug 2026

  • 20 Aug · t.me/ASupersharij/58959