State-controlled outlet recycles images from 2014 to push claims about American mercenaries in Ukraine
An article in fondsk.ru, an outlet recently tied to Russian intelligence-operated outlet Strategic Culture Foundation, claims mercenaries in Ukraine ready "for war with Russia."
Recycled content, recycled claims
An article intended for the domestic Russian audience attempted to associate Ukraine with the Islamic State and Neo-Nazi fringe groups using years old articles and pictures. It claims that “high-ranking” American and Canadian Military officials have been seen on the ground in Ukraine. Neither country has sent troops to fight in Ukraine, and US President Biden addressed US involvement on February 15:
While I will not send American servicemen to fight Russia in Ukraine, we have supplied the Ukrainian military with equipment to help them defend themselves. We have provided training and advice and intelligence for the same purpose.
And make no mistake: The United States will defend every inch of NATO territory with the full force of American power. An attack against one NATO country is an attack against all of us. And the United States commitment to Article 5 is sacrosanct.
False claims about secret American forces on the ground come amid escalating attacks on Ukraine by Russian hybrid forces. The Kremlin has promoted no fewer than ten false flag narratives about the situation.
Associated Press reported in February 2022 that the Strategic Culture Foundation controls Fondsk.ru. Miburo, a consulting firm that counters malign influence, wrote on February 15:
Fondsk, the Russian-language version of the SVR-linked Strategic Culture Foundation, is also under Maksimenko and Strategic Culture Foundation’s control, tying it to Russia’s SVR as well.
Unsubstantiated claims about Western mercenaries
On February 21, 2022, Fondsk.ru claimed “hundreds of mercenaries are arriving these days in Ukraine to take part in the ‘war with Russia,’” adding “Italians are coming too.” While it isn’t possible to disprove such a claim, Russia has a history of making similar claims.
In 2014, pro-Kremlin outlets circulated stories about mercenaries from Blackwater, a private rent-a-military company. In 2022, Russia is using the alleged presence of US-affiliated mercenaries to portray the US as provoking Russia. Pro-Kremlin websites started promoting the mercenary narrative no later than January 27.
Fondsk.ru invoked a 2015 quote to associate Ukraine with armed militants allegedly trained by the Islamic State. The head of News Front was quoted in the concluding paragraph.
Some foreign mercenaries come to Donbass to earn money, others “to satisfy their animal needs and mental disorders.” For example, Polish nationalists visited the Donbass, who came specifically for the purpose of “killing Russians.”
Volunteer portrayed as evidence of American involvement
American Sean Fuller—who served in Ukrainian forces in a volunteer capacity and thus, is not a mercenary or a representative of the US—is presented as evidence of American involvement in the fight. Russian outlets reported that Fuller died in 2020, eventually leading Fuller to make a video refuting the claim posted on social media.
Among the mercenaries, high-ranking military personnel from the United States and Canada were seen. The DPR believes that these people are directly involved in planning and conducting offensive operations.
Fondsk.ru cites Maria Zakharova, an official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry according to Fondsk.ru, as the source for the claim that “4,000 US military instructors…in the Donbass…are actually acting as mercenaries.”
Recycled images of soldiers date as far back as 2014
Images throughout the piece show men in military garb but lack captions to indicate what the reader is seeing. A possible consequence of this is that the audience may assume that the depicted soldiers are the “hundreds of mercenaries” that “are arriving these days.”
The cover image dates back to 2019, followed by an image that appeared online in 2014. Pictures that appeared in 2016 on social media and in an article published by another recently-outed-as-FSB-directed website, Politnavigator, also appear in the February 21st article.