The Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD), operating under Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, has issued a formal warning regarding a new wave of Russian informational and psychological operations (PSYOPs). According to officials, Moscow is intentionally escalating its efforts to destabilize frontline regions by coupling kinetic military strikes with sophisticated digital disinformation campaigns. The primary objective of this coordinated offensive is to sow panic and discord among the Ukrainian populace, creating an illusion of domestic fragility that Russian propaganda platforms can then exploit for geopolitical leverage.
The CCD reports that this psychological assault relies on a symbiotic relationship between physical destruction and digital deception. While Russian forces continue to conduct systematic missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian gas stations—infrastructure critical to both civilian mobility and military logistics—a network of anonymous social media accounts, purportedly controlled by Russian intelligence agencies, has simultaneously launched a coordinated narrative of a “catastrophic fuel shortage.” By striking the physical infrastructure while poisoning the information environment, the enemy aims to demoralize the public and undermine trust in local governance.
A core component of this campaign involves the mass distribution of high-production, fabricated videos and doctored imagery. These materials allege that a severe fuel crisis has gripped the country, frequently featuring staged segments that depict gasoline being siphoned from civilian vehicles. In a strategic bid to deepen social divisions, Russian propaganda has even targeted the Ukrainian military, releasing fabricated clips that attempt to frame members of the Armed Forces for these fictitious thefts. These malicious portrayals are designed to provoke resentment between the military and the civilian population, thereby eroding the unified front essential to Ukraine’s defense.
Ukrainian officials argue that this manufactured narrative is a retaliatory measure meant to mask Russia’s own systemic internal failures. The CCD contends that as Russia struggles with its own tangible fuel shortages, characterized by long lines and crippled domestic supply chains, Moscow feels compelled to project its own reality onto its neighbor. By artificially constructing a “fuel crisis” in Ukraine through digital manipulation, Russian intelligence agencies are effectively attempting to achieve a form of “media-driven revenge,” seeking to project an image of equivalent instability to distract from the difficulties currently plaguing their own territory.
Despite the persistent danger posed by Russian kinetic strikes on energy infrastructure, the Ukrainian government is moving quickly to debunk these reports. The CCD emphasized that while attacks on gas stations present a tangible challenge to public safety and regional logistics, there is no genuine fuel shortage affecting the country, including those communities situated near active front lines. The imagery of scarcity being propagated by Russian-affiliated accounts is entirely disjointed from the reality of the domestic fuel market, which remains functional and adequately supplied despite the ongoing pressures of war.
In response to the Russian campaign, the government has moved to secure the national fuel supply chain. First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has publicly confirmed that Ukraine possesses the necessary reserves of petroleum products to maintain operations. The government is currently working in close coordination with major market operators to implement rapid supply measures, ensuring that the Armed Forces, essential businesses, and private citizens continue to have uninterrupted access to fuel. By reinforcing the stability of these systems, Kyiv aims to neutralize the psychological impact of Russia’s disinformation strategy and maintain the resilience of the home front.
