Despite various hints and declarations of progress in Moscow’s dialogue with the new Ukrainian government, Russia has nonetheless maintained its aggressive behavior. The shelling of the Donbas persists, and the Ukrainian General Staff reports almost daily on new casualties – wounded or killed. Simultaneously, the Kremlin’s information operations against Ukraine have not ceased.
On August 23, several media outlets from the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk published a fabricated news story about Lt. Col. Robert Tracy, the United States Army commander of the Joint Multinational Training Group – Ukraine. The disinformation claimed Lt. Col. Tracy complained about the conditions at Ukraine’s Yavoriv training center and purportedly accused Ukrainian military personnel of stealing equipment, widespread alcoholism, corruption and lack of control. The story was based on a post the commander supposedly made on his personal blog (which was also fake and soon deleted) and swiftly amplified by a number of top Russian information outlets (Vzglyad, August 28).