Eurasia Press & News
The Kremlin network of Matryoshka bots has launched a new campaign to spread fakes about Ukraine and Vladimir Zelensky. On Twitter (X) there are dozens of videos stylized as plots of famous Western media and organizations – The Economist, Bloomberg, Euronews, Bellingcat, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, Spiegel TV and Institute for the Study of War (ISW). This was reported by The Insider project AntiBot4Navalny, analyzing the attacks.
The reason for the campaign was published on June 4, an open letter of Vladimir Zelensky to Vladimir Putin, in which the Ukrainian president proposed a personal meeting and a ceasefire during the talks.
Almost all new videos of “Matryoshki” are built around this letter and are trying to present it as a sign of Ukraine’s weakness or the result of external pressure. So, in one of the videos under the logo of The Economist, it is claimed that Zelensky allegedly published a letter to prevent the publication of “more than 800 files of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine”, containing evidence of its corruption. The video contains a fictional quote from the editor-in-chief of the publication Zanni Minton Beddouz: “Vladimir Zelensky is making a last desperate attempt to prevent the publication of more than 800 files of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, containing evidence of his corruption crimes.”
Another video, designed as the Spiegel TV story, argues that Zelensky’s letter is contrary to Germany’s plans to prepare for war with Russia by 2030. The authors of the fake attribute to the experts of the Institute for the Study of War a statement that the letter was written solely in order to give Germany and France time to prepare for the future conflict with Russia.
Several videos are trying to link the letter with allegedly large-scale corruption investigations against the Ukrainian leadership. The video under the logo of USA Today claims that the Pentagon began checking $ 50 billion in American aid to Ukraine and suspects the Ukrainian authorities of embezzling these funds. The video says that the visit of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to Kiev was associated with the need to “develop a crisis response”, one of which allegedly became Zelensky’s letter.
Another group of videos is devoted to the alleged pressure from European countries. The Wall Street Journal video quotes the “European partners have forced Vladimir Zelensky to write an open letter to Vladimir Putin” because of the problems of the European economy and the EU’s inability to withstand another year of the war.
Particularly exotic versions are promoted in rollers under the Bellingcat and Euronews logos. The first claims that the letter is allegedly related to the preparation of a coup in Ukraine. The authors of the fake attribute the founder of Bellingcat Eliot Higgins the words that the Ukrainian elite has been preparing Zelensky’s removal from power for several months. In the second video, former Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Tsoi is credited with a statement that “if Zelensky wants peace, he must shoot himself.”
Another common narrative is Ukraine’s alleged military weakness in front of Russia. In the videos stylized as materials of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the audience is convinced that “Moscow showed only 5% of her capabilities in Kiev, and Vladimir Zelensky is already writing an open letter to Vladimir Putin.” The authors also claim that the letter is an attempt to buy time for France and Germany.
Fakes contradict each other. In one video, viewers are told that Germany and France want to drag out the war as long as possible and use Zelensky’s letter to prepare for a future clash with Russia. In another, Europe is so exhausted by war and crisis, which actually forced Zelensky to ask Putin for negotiations.
In a number of videos, Zelensky is called a “corrupt official”, “drug addict” and “murderer of the Ukrainian people”, and also claim that the story will allegedly remember him this.
“Matreshka” is a Kremlin network of bots, trolls and coordinated anonymous media resources, specializing in mass disinformation campaigns. Its characteristic tools are short vertical videos under the logos of reputable Western media, universities, government agencies and international organizations that simultaneously launch on Twitter (X), Telegram, Bluesky and closed group chats. A favorite reception of the network is to pick up a real informational occasion and complete a fictional narrative around it, using real names, brands and organizations.
