Russia is increasingly using social media to fuel its large-scale disinformation campaign over the war in Ukraine, a new report has warned. It claims an army of more than 100,000 Russian social media channels are being used to spread false narratives around the conflict which has raged for more than three years.

The report warns Russia is deploying a “systematic weaponisation” of information designed to conceal international crimes and hold up efforts to hold perpetrators accountable. It says Russian social media channels are playing a growing role in disinformation warfare, with around 100,000 social media pages, along with a network of popular channels on the Telegram platform, used to spread false narratives over Ukraine. It warns a key part of this effort involves the work of Russian military bloggers, known as “voyenkors” or “Z-bloggers”, who have an estimated global audience of around 10,000,000.

A Russian attack on a drama theatre housing civilians in Mariupol in March 2022 was used as an example.

It said this was characterised by Moscow as a “provocation” staged by Ukraine to draw NATO forces into the war, with some Russian military bloggers emphasising this message a day before the attack.

The 161-page report is by the international human rights foundation Global Rights Compliance and advocacy organisation The Reckoning Project.

It is billed as the first report analysing Russia’s use of so-called ‘information alibis’, involving false information being spread pre-emptively to deflect responsibility.

Top figures in the Kremlin, including President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, are identified as key drivers of the disinformation.

The report claims efforts to circulate fake narratives ahead of an attack are coordinated through a hierarchical network.

Many of the attacks analysed using ‘information alibis’ saw higher civilian casualties, the report said.

Wayne Jordash KC, President of Global Rights Compliance, commented on the new report: "It is essential to differentiate between freedom of expression and deliberate contributions to criminal plans and crimes.

"Russia’s propogandists often cross that line, intending their propaganda to materially contribute to the planning, execution, and cover-up of international crimes.

"Those who knowingly disseminate this type of propaganda intending to facilitate war crimes and/or crimes against humanity and in fact doing so should be aware that one day, along with others who use other types of weapons, may too find themselves facing accountability for their actions."

Anastasiia Vorobiova, Legal Advisor at Global Rights Compliance, said: "By uncovering the Russia’s calculated use of disinformation and information alibis as a weapon of war, this report serves as a crucial blueprint for holding perpetrators accountable—offering a foundation for the legal prosecution of those orchestrating and disseminating false narratives to justify acts of aggression."