By Emanuele Errichiello

Disinformation and propaganda have become central tools in Russia’s strategic arsenal, particularly in its engagement with Europe.

Russian disinformation campaigns typically operate on multiple levels. At the strategic level, they aim to undermine cohesion within the European Union and NATO by amplifying skepticism about integration, portraying Western alliances as weak or divided, and questioning the legitimacy of liberal democratic values. The recurring theme is to frame Russia as a misunderstood power encircled by hostile forces, while casting European governments as unreliable, hypocritical, or subordinate to U.S. interests.

At the operational level, Russian actors exploit existing social and political cleavages inside European societies. Through state-sponsored outlets such as RT and Sputnik, along with networks of proxy websites, social media bots, and influencers, Russia amplifies divisive issues ranging from migration and public health to energy and climate policy. By inflating polarizing narratives, Moscow does not seek to convince audiences of a single “truth,” but rather to sow confusion and distrust of established sources of information. The objective is less to make people embrace Russian narratives than to make them doubt everything else.

The case of Ukraine is particularly illustrative. Since the 2014 annexation of Crimea, and especially after the 2022 full-scale invasion, Russian propaganda has targeted European audiences with competing frames: portraying the invasion as a defensive response to NATO expansion, painting Ukraine as corrupt or illegitimate, and promoting narratives of “war fatigue” to undermine European solidarity. These efforts are designed to weaken public support for sanctions, military assistance to Kyiv, and broader European unity in resisting Russian aggression.

European states and institutions have responded by strengthening resilience. The EU’s East StratCom Task Force, NATO’s Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence, and numerous national initiatives reflect growing recognition that information integrity is a matter of security. Yet the challenge remains significant: disinformation thrives in open societies with plural media environments, and Russia adapts quickly to platform moderation, shifting tactics to encrypted apps, fringe communities, or local-language influencers.

Russia’s use of disinformation in Europe is less about persuasion than about destabilization. It is a long-term strategy aimed at corroding trust, fragmenting unity, and weakening democratic resilience. Confronting it requires not only technical countermeasures and fact-checking, but also sustained investment in media literacy, public trust in institutions, and a confident, cohesive European narrative capable of withstanding manipulation. Civil society organizations have an essential role to play here—cooperating and raising awareness about the risks, and challenging these threats through large-scale, bottom-up international initiatives that may resonate more effectively with the public than elite-driven campaigns.

Emanuele Errichiello is an ESRC PhD researcher in International Relations at the London School of Economics (LSE). He serves as the Deputy Director of the Centro Studi Internazionali (CSI), where he also co-edits the journal Studi Internazionali and is in charge of European institutional relations. His research focuses on Euro-Mediterranean relations, and the EU’s external action.