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Russian Propaganda’s Latest Belgorod Fake Involves a Drone, a Goat, and Zero Proof
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![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
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Russian propaganda outlets circulated another false story alleging that Ukrainian forces deliberately targeted civilians in Russia’s Belgorod region, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation on March 11.
The Ukrainian agency stated that Russian media were actively spreading a new video in which a Belgorod region resident claimed Ukrainian drones were “terrorizing civilians.”
The narrative was then amplified by state outlet RIA Novosti and republished through affiliated platforms, including Mail.ru.
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In one RIA report published on March 12, a woman claimed a Ukrainian drone had waited in ambush before hitting her car after she returned from work.
A Mail.ru item, citing Russian official Rodion Miroshnik, pushed a similar story claiming a drone “mockingly” chased an elderly woman walking with a goat in Alisovka.
The reports offered no independently verified evidence.
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The Center for Countering Disinformation has repeatedly flagged similar Russian information operations in recent months, including fake claims about alleged abuses by Ukrainian troops in Myrnohrad and Kupiansk.
The aim, Ukrainian officials argue, is to discredit Ukraine’s military and feed a false narrative of Ukrainian attacks on civilians.
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The latest case also fits a broader Kremlin pattern of using fabricated legal narratives to shift blame onto Ukraine.
The narrative centers on a fabricated “tribunal” report that accuses Ukrainian forces of atrocities in Pokrovsk, echoing a familiar Kremlin tactic of recasting Russian crimes as Ukrainian ones.
Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation noted the body has no legal standing, relies on Russian officials and unsupported claims, and surfaced after Russia spent months devastating the frontline city.
The effort also fits a broader pattern: Russian propaganda previously tried to sanitize documented abuses in Mariupol, even as its own material captured deliberate attacks on civilians.
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