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Russia wants to tarnish the reputation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the eyes of its partners and plans to fabricate a Red Cross report to do so
Pete Shmigel, January 16, 2023
Russian special services are planning to use the Russian Red Cross to halt international supplies of heavy weapons to Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation (UCBSS), a leading non-governmental strategic policy organization currently working with Ukraine’s Defense Forces and military.
Having access to sources within Ukraine’s strategic and military intelligence, UCBSS notes that Russian special services will soon use the Russian Red Cross to make claims of war crimes allegedly committed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine using weapons supplied by Western partners.
“Russia needs to tarnish the Ukrainian army in the minds of Western decision-makers as well as the general public. It [Russia] is ready to use the resources of what appears to be a non-governmental organization — the Russian Red Cross — to create disinformation about the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is an extremely cynical and sick propaganda tactic that exploits the international authority of the Red Cross,” says Serhii Kuzan, Head of UCBSS, in an exclusive interview with the Kyiv Post.
Kuzan noted that, based on briefings and intelligence data available to UCBSS, the Russian Red Cross will attempt to release a report from temporarily occupied territories. This report will include fake witnesses and fabricated videos alleging attacks by Ukrainian forces on civilians, violations of the Geneva Conventions, and breaches of international law in general.
Kuzan also noted that the International Committee of the Red Cross may be drawn into this provocation. Allegations against the Russian Red Cross emerged after numerous statements about the organization’s collaborationist and illegal role since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Newsweek and other Western media outlets previously reported that the Russian Red Cross is engaged in “fundraising and supporting the families of soldiers fighting in Ukraine,” as well as being directly linked to the Russian government. The organization, which called on its supporters to “write a poem or song about love for the Motherland,” has been accused of facilitating the forced deportation of Ukrainians from occupied territories.
“We see a clear pattern showing that the Russian Red Cross is one of the fronts in Russia’s hybrid warfare strategy. This pattern will intensify with the launch of a propaganda campaign aimed at limiting support for Ukraine from the collective West,” Kuzan said.
“While this is predictable, it would be truly outrageous to see support for the Russian Red Cross from the ICRC, or even their cooperation. The ICRC, which currently holds a rather questionable position regarding the war, must under no circumstances allow itself to be manipulated by Russian propaganda tactics or have any association with them. If the ICRC does so, the last remnants of trust in this organization will be destroyed,” Kuzan emphasized.
The Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation was founded in 2021 by a team that formed during Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity. The UCBSS team worked on supporting humanitarian and communications efforts in eastern Ukraine, as well as identifying hostile strategic propaganda from the Kremlin. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, UCBSS team members have been integrated into various units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at both senior command and operational levels, providing expert consultations. Based on its own sources, UCBSS was one of the first non-governmental organizations to predict Russia’s fake referendums in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Pete Shmigel is an Australian author with experience in politics and business, sustainable development, military and mental health issues. He has published in leading Australian newspapers and was one of the initiators behind the founding of Lifeline Ukraine.
