According to a false narrative promoted by Moscow, the war in Ukraine is part of a broader hybrid war waged by the West against Russia, which is fighting for culture, faith and human freedom.
NEWS: Russia is fighting today not just for territory, but for cultural, linguistic and traditional values, the representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova said.
“Currently, we are fighting those who are waging an officially undeclared hybrid war against us and who are trying to inflict a strategic defeat on us. We are not fighting merely for territories that are to be expanded, but for values that do not have material embodiment. It is about values related to culture, the mother tongue, art, traditions, faith and the possibility of being truly free people”, Zakharova said.
“They will continue to follow this path because this is the logic into which Western curators have drawn Ukraine: the destruction of the state, the impoverishment of the population, the undermining of internal foundations (economic, scientific and educational), as well as the very self-awareness of the people”, Zakharova said.
NARRATIVES: 1. Russia is fighting a defensive war for traditional values, culture, language and faith. 2. The West is waging a hybrid war against Russia. 3. Ukraine is controlled by “Western curators”. 4. Kyiv and the West are destroying the Ukrainian state and the consciousness of the population.
PURPOSE: To justify Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To argue in favor of continuing the war.
Fact: Russia is using “traditional values” and “external threats” to justify its acts of aggression.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The rhetoric regarding “freedom” and “traditional values” is at odds with the internal reality within the Russian Federation. International indicators and reports published by human rights organizations describe a consolidated authoritarian regime in which the independent media has been suppressed, civil society is repressed, and political opposition and war critics are subject to criminal sanctions. The legislation regarding “foreign agents” and undesirable organizations transforms the expression of opinions, civic activism and independent journalism into crimes, which contradicts the discourse on freedom, human dignity and fundamental rights. One cannot build in another state, through war, that which does not exist in one's own country.
Furthermore, there has been no hybrid or conventional war initiated by the West or Ukraine against the Russian Federation. Western sanctions, trade restrictions, the limitation of Russian propaganda, and the dismantling of espionage networks are defensive reactions to Russia's aggression and subversive activities. These measures were adopted after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and expanded after the full-scale invasion in February 2022, as a direct response to the violation of international law.
References to “traditional values”, culture, language and religion serve as a tool for political legitimization. Russia constantly uses these themes to justify its military operations against neighboring states and to mobilize the population in support of the war. This moralizing discourse serves to transform aggression into a “historical” mission and to mask expansionist geopolitical objectives.
It is worth mentioning that, prior to February 2022, high-ranking Russian officials, including Sergey Lavrov, Maria Zakharova and Dmitry Peskov, repeatedly denied any intention to attack Ukraine and described Western warnings as fake news. Shortly thereafter, Russia launched a multi-directional invasion despite promises not to resort to force.
The narrative regarding “Western curators” revives an older imperial logic in which Eastern European states are presented as entities incapable of self-governance. This narrative continues the Kremlin’s “one people” thesis, formulated by Vladimir Putin in July 2021, which disputes the existence of a Ukrainian national identity and treats the “awakening of self-awareness” among Ukrainians as an existential threat to Russia. For Putin, an independent Ukraine is an “anti-Russia”.
The West and Kyiv are not destroying the Ukrainian state. The bombing of settlements and civilian infrastructure, as well as the damage to systems of education, science and sports, are direct consequences of Russian aggression. Civilian victims and the devastation of Ukrainian territory are the result of the Russian Federation's aggression, not the policies of Kyiv or Western support.
Depicting Russia as a “victim” ignores the fact that it has constantly resorted to military interventions and subversive actions: supporting separatist regimes in the region of Transnistria, the 2008 invasion of Georgia, military operations conducted in Syria, and the use of mercenaries and paramilitary groups in Africa. These actions signal a systemic aggressive policy, which led Western states to adopt defense and deterrence measures after years of tolerance and trust in relations with Moscow.
Ultimately, fitting aggression into a moral-Christian discourse aims to dilute legal responsibility. Arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court, including the one for Vladimir Putin, the political designation of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism by the European Parliament, and the work of international experts documenting war crimes in Ukraine clearly demonstrate Russia's responsibility. These facts cannot be contested through identity-based or religious rhetoric, nor through the reversal of roles between aggressor and victim.
BACKGROUND: Maria Zakharova's statements are part of the Kremlin's strategic communication: they justify the invasion by presenting it as self-defense, shift the focus from facts (aggression, victims, destruction) toward symbolic registers (“faith”, “tradition”, “freedom”), and accuse the West of fighting an undeclared war to justify escalation. The interview cited by the “1 Prime” television station was conducted for RIA Novosti in order to mark Diplomat's Day (February 10), thus conveying an internal message to the Russian diplomatic corps: replicating narratives about “hybrid war”, “Western curators”, and “values” as a unified line of external propaganda.
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