Dismissal of strategic decisions by attributing “pointlessness” and destructive consequences to them

What it claims

Military operations by the SBU and the Armed Forces of Ukraine are cast as Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s personal gambles that supposedly only provoke retaliatory strikes. This framing ignores the defensive necessity of Ukraine’s actions and shifts the blame for Russian aggression onto the Ukrainian leadership.

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.

• The forty-day operation to pressure Russia, initiated by Zelenskyy, only led to the destruction of bulk carriers in the ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv.

  Одесский партизан, 4 Aug 2026

  t.me/odessa_partizan/3554

• Zelenskyy supposedly deliberately signs decrees for new SBU operations that only bring further destruction to Ukrainian infrastructure.

  Одесский партизан, 5 Aug 2026 · Archived copy

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 sow distrust in the effectiveness of Ukrainian intelligence services and convince citizens that resisting the aggressor only worsens their situation.

Techniques used

• Causal OversimplificationEstablishing a direct link between Ukrainian operations and Russian shelling of Odesa as the “result outside the window.”
• Loaded LanguageUsing the “Pandora’s box” metaphor to describe the actions of the Ukrainian leadership.

The real grievance it exploits

The constant stress of the civilian population due to shelling of port infrastructure and the fear of escalating hostilities.

How to counter

• Reframe: Russia attacks Ukrainian ports for the purpose of economic blockade, regardless of SBU actions, and the operations of Ukrainian intelligence services are a legitimate response to aggression.
• Technique exposure: Manipulators use victim-blaming tactics, attempting to justify Russia's war crimes as “provocations” by the victim.

Sources (all time)

• ЗеРадаTier 1424,849 subscribers
  2 posts · 3–4 Aug 2026

  • 4 Aug · t.me/ZeRada1/31720
  • 3 Aug · t.me/ZeRada1/31706
• РезидентTier 1886,773 subscribers
  4 posts · 1–3 Aug 2026

  • 3 Aug · t.me/rezident_ua/30145
  • 3 Aug · t.me/rezident_ua/30142
  • 3 Aug · t.me/rezident_ua/30141
  • 1 Aug · t.me/rezident_ua/30137
• Одесский партизанTier 33,559 subscribers
  4 posts · 4–5 Aug 2026

  • 5 Aug · Archived copy
  • 5 Aug · t.me/odessa_partizan/3563
  • 5 Aug · t.me/odessa_partizan/3562
  • 4 Aug · t.me/odessa_partizan/3554