A revolutionary new study shows that Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine not only genuinely believe state propaganda but also that the strength of their beliefs strongly correlates with their dehumanization of Ukrainians, their conviction that the war against Ukraine is necessary and legitimate, and their self-identification with the broader “Russian world” for which they are willing to fight and die. These findings illustrate how state rhetoric can create the conditions for atrocities on the ground, helping to close one of the most persistent legal gaps in holding propagandists accountable.
Working with support from the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, Ukrainian nongovernment organization LingvaLexa surveyed 1,060 Russian prisoners of war held in Ukrainian camps. The findings are stark: Belief in Russian propaganda is widespread. Seventy-six percent of respondents endorsed at least one of the 18 narratives tested.
The most widely accepted narratives echoed core Kremlin talking points: that Russians and Ukrainians are one people, that armed groups in the Donbas and Crimea were ordinary Ukrainians defending their rights, that “Ukraine is a ‘Western puppet,’ and that “NATO is waging war against Russia ‘through Ukraine.’
