Portraying support for Ukraine as an attempt to colonize Russia’s resources

What it claims

Russia’s diverse natural resources are presented as proof that the West seeks to subjugate the country and the entire “resource-rich East.” The war is reduced to a centuries-long confrontation between resource-poor Europe and a Slavic Orthodox civilization. Military and financial support for Ukraine is portrayed as an indirect intervention aimed at breaking up Russia.

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.

• Europe is allegedly waging war through Ukraine to break up Russia and take control of its oil, metals, and nuclear energy sector.

  ЗеРада, 12 Nov 2026 · Archived copy

• For centuries, the West has allegedly advanced on the Slavic Orthodox East for resources and now acts through money and weapons.

  ЗеРада, 12 Nov 2026 · Archived copy

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Goal

Strengthen the perception among Russian audiences and Russian-speaking communities abroad that the war is a defence against external subjugation and that support for Ukraine conceals a Western colonial design.

Techniques used

• Causal OversimplificationA complex war is explained through one motive: the West’s alleged drive to seize Russian resources.
• Appeal to Fear / PrejudiceSupport for Ukraine is linked to a threat of Russia’s breakup and the loss of control over its resources.

The real grievance it exploits

The narrative exploits anxiety about economic uncertainty, dependence on natural resources, and fears that outside pressure could deprive the country of political autonomy and security.

How to counter

• Technique exposure: Reducing the war to a struggle for resources erases the decisions and actions of specific states and replaces analysis with one all-encompassing cause.
• Reframe: Support for Ukraine does not require a myth of a “civilizational war” to explain it: it can be assessed through stated decisions, conditions, and consequences rather than assumptions about a hidden plan.

Sources (all time)

• ЗеРадаTier 1423,360 subscribers
  3 posts · 12 Nov 2026

  • 12 Nov · t.me/ZeRada1/33012
  • 12 Nov · Archived copy
  • 12 Nov · Archived copy