Analytical article on EUvsDisinfo titled "How to justify crimes against humanity: the Kremlin method", by EUvsDisinfo and dated October 20, 2022. It appears under the rubric "DISINFORMATION REVIEW" and is tagged with Ukraine, Russia, EU, and Disinformation. The article summarises recent Russian pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives justifying or denying Russian missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure following intensified attacks in October 2022.

The article opens with "Key Takeaways" stating that Moscow relies on documented attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure; Kremlin communication denies clear open-source evidence; the "Nazist Ukraine" narrative is used to justify Russia's aggression; and faked or twisted threats become fuel for escalation.

Under "LAST WEEK IN REVIEW", the authors note that Russia's stepped-up missile and drone campaign against Ukraine has been accompanied by an intensification of online information warfare. The text states that Russian state-controlled media and pro-Kremlin outlets have ramped up efforts to distort, deny, or rationalise the strikes, presenting them as legitimate, limited, or forced choices. The section stresses that Kremlin propagandists try to shift blame onto Ukraine and the West, and aim to normalise or obscure attacks that in reality target civilian infrastructure and cause civilian casualties.

The core of the piece, "MAIN PRO-KREMLIN NARRATIVES BEING SPREAD", lists four recurrent disinformation lines:

1. "The Russian military has always strictly adhered to the laws of war and was never the first to deliberately attack civilian infrastructure". The article contrasts this claim with extensive evidence of Russia's deliberate attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine, including residential buildings, power plants, and other non-military facilities since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. It notes that Russian officials and propagandists publicly insist that only military targets are hit, despite well-documented strikes on civilian sites in cities across Ukraine (examples include attacks in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and other locations, though individual city names are only partly visible in the screenshot). The article stresses that Russia has a long record of such tactics in previous wars, including in Syria and Chechnya, and that the repeated pattern undermines pro-Kremlin assertions of legal conduct.

2. "We're firing only after Russian retaliatory strikes on military-linked facilities; civilians no longer spread" (headline text partly truncated in the screenshot, but clearly about a narrative portraying Russian strikes as purely retaliatory. The body text explains that pro-Kremlin commentators allege Russia merely responds to Ukrainian actions or alleged Ukrainian "terrorism" and claim that Kyiv uses civilians as shields. The article argues that this rhetorical framing seeks to shift moral and legal responsibility for civilian deaths from Russia to Ukraine. It also notes that Russian outlets heavily featured narratives blaming Ukraine for damage from Russian shelling, for instance by claiming that Ukrainian air defence interceptions caused civilian casualties or destroyed residential blocks.

3. "Russia's bombing of Ukrainian data centres is part of Europe's salvation from Nazism". The text notes that several Russian commentators and outlets present Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian energy and IT infrastructure as a historic mission to defeat Nazism in Europe. The Kremlin stretches its longstanding false narrative that Ukraine is Nazi-controlled to justify hitting civilian infrastructure on the grounds that it supposedly hosts "Nazi" command nodes or is part of an alleged NATO/Nazi network. The article notes that such rhetoric is used to mobilise domestic audiences, depicting Russia as the heir to the Soviet fight against Nazi Germany while ignoring that the present-day victims are Ukrainian civilians and that EU member states support Ukraine.

4. "NATO is practising offensive scenarios and a blockade of Kaliningrad". The article reports that Russian officials and propagandists have claimed that NATO exercises and deployments in the Baltic Sea region allegedly threaten Kaliningrad and Russia's access to it, including narratives that portray Western drills as rehearsals for a naval or economic blockade. The text explains that these claims are unsupported by facts and serve to present Russia as besieged, justify Russian military build-up in the area, and distract from Russia's own aggression against Ukraine and coercive tactics in the Baltic region. The narrative insinuates that regular NATO exercises are offensive war preparations and that EU member states bordering Kaliningrad are complicit in an anti-Russian encirclement strategy.

Throughout, EUvsDisinfo emphasises that these themes are part of a broader Kremlin disinformation method: deny obvious facts, invert victim and aggressor roles, recycle "Nazi" labels against opponents, and manufacture external threats to legitimise escalation. The article argues that such information operations are integral to how Moscow seeks to justify actions that may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity under international law. It cautions readers: "Don't be deceived" (appearing both in the closing line of the piece and in the EUvsDisinfo site slogan "DON'T BE DECEIVED, QUESTION EVEN MORE").

The webpage includes navigation elements linking to other sections: Articles, Database, Learn, PVE (Preventing Violent Extremism) Explorer, Research, Videos, About, and language toggle "EN". Social-media share buttons are visible for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Email, and others. At the bottom, category tiles list Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and Georgia.

The site footer identifies the project as managed by the EU External Action Service (EEAS) "East StratCom Task Force (ESTF)" with a postal address in Brussels, Belgium (text truncated but indicating Rond-point Schuman / Schuman Roundabout). Multiple social-media icons are present (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, RSS, LinkedIn, Instagram) and a contact link "EEAS Europa.eu".

The article does not provide precise timestamps for specific missile strikes or locations beyond mentioning Ukraine, Europe, Kaliningrad, and NATO exercises in general. It relies on open-source reporting about Russian attacks in October 2022 without specifying exact incident times, and focuses on information narratives rather than the kinetic events themselves.

Analytical article on EUvsDisinfo titled "How to justify crimes against humanity: the Kremlin method", by EUvsDisinfo and dated October 20, 2022. It appears under the rubric "DISINFORMATION REVIEW" and is tagged with Ukraine, Russia, EU, and Disinformation. The article summarises recent Russian pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives justifying or denying Russian missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure following intensified attacks in October 2022.

The article opens with "Key Takeaways" stating that Moscow relies on documented attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure; Kremlin communication denies clear open-source evidence; the "Nazist Ukraine" narrative is used to justify Russia's aggression; and faked or twisted threats become fuel for escalation.

Under "LAST WEEK IN REVIEW", the authors note that Russia's stepped-up missile and drone campaign against Ukraine has been accompanied by an intensification of online information warfare. The text states that Russian state-controlled media and pro-Kremlin outlets have ramped up efforts to distort, deny, or rationalise the strikes, presenting them as legitimate, limited, or forced choices. The section stresses that Kremlin propagandists try to shift blame onto Ukraine and the West, and aim to normalise or obscure attacks that in reality target civilian infrastructure and cause civilian casualties.

The core of the piece, "MAIN PRO-KREMLIN NARRATIVES BEING SPREAD", lists four recurrent disinformation lines:

1. "The Russian military has always strictly adhered to the laws of war and was never the first to deliberately attack civilian infrastructure". The article contrasts this claim with extensive evidence of Russia's deliberate attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine, including residential buildings, power plants, and other non-military facilities since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. It notes that Russian officials and propagandists publicly insist that only military targets are hit, despite well-documented strikes on civilian sites in cities across Ukraine (examples include attacks in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and other locations, though individual city names are only partly visible in the screenshot). The article stresses that Russia has a long record of such tactics in previous wars, including in Syria and Chechnya, and that the repeated pattern undermines pro-Kremlin assertions of legal conduct.

2. "We're firing only after Russian retaliatory strikes on military-linked facilities; civilians no longer spread" (headline text partly truncated in the screenshot, but clearly about a narrative portraying Russian strikes as purely retaliatory. The body text explains that pro-Kremlin commentators allege Russia merely responds to Ukrainian actions or alleged Ukrainian "terrorism" and claim that Kyiv uses civilians as shields. The article argues that this rhetorical framing seeks to shift moral and legal responsibility for civilian deaths from Russia to Ukraine. It also notes that Russian outlets heavily featured narratives blaming Ukraine for damage from Russian shelling, for instance by claiming that Ukrainian air defence interceptions caused civilian casualties or destroyed residential blocks.

3. "Russia's bombing of Ukrainian data centres is part of Europe's salvation from Nazism". The text notes that several Russian commentators and outlets present Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian energy and IT infrastructure as a historic mission to defeat Nazism in Europe. The Kremlin stretches its longstanding false narrative that Ukraine is Nazi-controlled to justify hitting civilian infrastructure on the grounds that it supposedly hosts "Nazi" command nodes or is part of an alleged NATO/Nazi network. The article notes that such rhetoric is used to mobilise domestic audiences, depicting Russia as the heir to the Soviet fight against Nazi Germany while ignoring that the present-day victims are Ukrainian civilians and that EU member states support Ukraine.

4. "NATO is practising offensive scenarios and a blockade of Kaliningrad". The article reports that Russian officials and propagandists have claimed that NATO exercises and deployments in the Baltic Sea region allegedly threaten Kaliningrad and Russia's access to it, including narratives that portray Western drills as rehearsals for a naval or economic blockade. The text explains that these claims are unsupported by facts and serve to present Russia as besieged, justify Russian military build-up in the area, and distract from Russia's own aggression against Ukraine and coercive tactics in the Baltic region. The narrative insinuates that regular NATO exercises are offensive war preparations and that EU member states bordering Kaliningrad are complicit in an anti-Russian encirclement strategy.

Throughout, EUvsDisinfo emphasises that these themes are part of a broader Kremlin disinformation method: deny obvious facts, invert victim and aggressor roles, recycle "Nazi" labels against opponents, and manufacture external threats to legitimise escalation. The article argues that such information operations are integral to how Moscow seeks to justify actions that may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity under international law. It cautions readers: "Don't be deceived" (appearing both in the closing line of the piece and in the EUvsDisinfo site slogan "DON'T BE DECEIVED, QUESTION EVEN MORE").

The webpage includes navigation elements linking to other sections: Articles, Database, Learn, PVE (Preventing Violent Extremism) Explorer, Research, Videos, About, and language toggle "EN". Social-media share buttons are visible for Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Email, and others. At the bottom, category tiles list Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and Georgia.

The site footer identifies the project as managed by the EU External Action Service (EEAS) "East StratCom Task Force (ESTF)" with a postal address in Brussels, Belgium (text truncated but indicating Rond-point Schuman / Schuman Roundabout). Multiple social-media icons are present (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, RSS, LinkedIn, Instagram) and a contact link "EEAS Europa.eu".

The article does not provide precise timestamps for specific missile strikes or locations beyond mentioning Ukraine, Europe, Kaliningrad, and NATO exercises in general. It relies on open-source reporting about Russian attacks in October 2022 without specifying exact incident times, and focuses on information narratives rather than the kinetic events themselves.