Predicting Ukraine’s inevitable defeat by dismissing Western support as propaganda

What it claims

The idea of Russia’s total control over the battlefield is presented as an objective reality hidden by Western media. Any Ukrainian successes or statements of resilience are branded as artificial propaganda designed to mislead the global community.

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.

• Western claims of Ukrainian success are merely a propaganda campaign, while Russia is fully in the driver's seat on the battlefield.

  Margarita Simonyan, 29 Jul 2026

  x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2082447512732934521

• Zelenskyy's so-called operation to force peace has failed, leading only to territorial losses and personnel chaos within the government.

  Margarita Simonyan, 4 Aug 2026

  x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2084387751445622816

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 convince Western audiences that further aid to Ukraine is futile and to force the acceptance of Russian terms as the only way out.

Techniques used

• Appeal to AuthorityUsing comments by John Mearsheimer to lend weight to claims of a Russian victory.
• Loaded LanguageUsing terms like “terrorist forces” and “NATO mercenaries” to delegitimize the Ukrainian army.

The real grievance it exploits

Exploiting fatigue from the prolonged war and the fear of economic consequences of an endless conflict.

How to counter

• Technique exposure: Manipulators often use specific Western experts whose views align with the Kremlin's line to create an illusion of “independent confirmation” for their claims.
• Reframe: Predictions of Ukraine's “imminent defeat” have been heard since the start of the invasion, yet the resilience of the AFU and partner support consistently prove these scenarios wrong.

Sources (all time)

• Vladimir KornilovTier 165,000 followers
  1 post · 20 Jul 2026

  • 20 Jul · x.com/Kornilov1968/status/2079072185088430546
• Margarita SimonyanTier 1560,000 followers
  4 posts · 29 Jul – 4 Aug 2026

  • 4 Aug · x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2084387751445622816
  • 3 Aug · x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2084341672595411042
  • 29 Jul · x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2082465210510516671
  • 29 Jul · x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2082447512732934521
• Украина. Спецоперация. Мониторинг СВОTier 115,828 subscribers
  3 posts · 29–30 Jul 2026

  • 30 Jul · t.me/MonitoringUA/93858
  • 30 Jul · t.me/MonitoringUA/93855
  • 29 Jul · t.me/MonitoringUA/93810