Russian propaganda has launched a large-scale campaign to simulate willingness for peace talks while setting its audience up for endless and increasignly brutal aggression. Moscow is purposefully crafting a “peace-loving” player’s image for itself, but in reality it only seeks to extinguish Ukraine’s agency. Russian disinformation has been focusing on creating the illusion that the only way towards peace is Ukraine’s total surrender, repeatedly threatening it with air strikes and nuclear weapons. The content posted by pro-state Russian channels on Telegram suggests that the Kremlin only brings up negotiations to sow confusion and discord in the West and try to legitimise the occupation of Ukrainian land, the Institute of Mass Information experts found, having studied* Russian propaganda outlets’ manipulation strategy.

Shaping an alternate reality

The Kremlin’s propaganda resources targeting the domestic consumer paint a nonsensical but complete picture of the world, casting Russia as the “last fortress of justice standing” and a “peace-loving power” that has to defend itself from attacks by the collective West, primarily the European Union. In this twisted system of coordinates, the aggressor is tirelessly pretending to be the victim. Propaganda diligently works dehumanise Ukraine’s leadership and Western politicians, denying their agency and presenting them as puppets who “want to fight to the last Ukrainian.” Any defeats or glaring war crimes on Russia’s part are omitted or mirrored back onto its adversaries. Eleven years into the aggression against Ukraine, Russian propagandists are still trying to keep the myth of Moscow’s innocence alive.

Vladimir Putin outlines terms for a ceasefire and the beginning of peace talks with Ukraine. Meeting with top MIA officials on 14 June 2024. “Ukrainian troops must be withdrawn completely from the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts…”

Screenshot from SOLOVIEV on Telegram by IMI

This “looking-glass” reality is enhanced by mythologising Russian weapons, which are attributed near-sacred properties that make them capable of thwarting any resistance. Propagandists persistently assure Russians that their country is “the most powerful in the world” and that European nations secretly dream of being friends with the Kremlin as they suffer under the rule of their “deranged” elites. This information policy’s true goal is to keep society in submerged in constant fear of an external enemy, which allows the authorities to keep the war going unhindered, presenting combat as the only available means of survival. This approach makes a real peace process impossible, as it would undermine the foundation on which the current Russian regime rests.

As before, Russian propaganda actively mixes up causes and consequences. Another characteristic feature is substantiating Russia’s own talking points with out-of-context quotes from Western media or officials. In this way, propaganda pretends that there is a “dialogue” going on while sowing expectations of inevitable escalation, conditioning the domestic audience to see war as a long-term and acceptable state.

Framing demands for capitulation as a “peace initiative”

The Russian propaganda’s fundamental narrative in late 2025 has been that “peace is achievable,” but only if Ukraine accepts Russian demands. The “peace plan” thus becomes a sort of ultimatum: any formulation that is not identical to the Kremlin’s position is declared “unacceptable,” and Kyiv’s refusal is used as pretext to continue the war. In this way, the Kremlin dodges real negotiations by putting forward clearly unacceptable demands that imply Ukraine has to de-facto dismantle its statehood and officially renounce its own territories. Any concessions by Ukraine are perceived as an invitation to even greater pressure.

  • “Ukrainian troops must be withdrawn completely from the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, and I would like to stress: from the entire territory of these oblasts within their administrative borders as of the time of their accession to Ukraine,” prominent pro-Kremlin Telegram channel SOLOVIEV quotes Vladimir Putin as saying.
  • “There will be no territorial concessions to Kyiv. At last, a definitive statement has been made in this whole peace deal bacchanalia that cannot be interpreted ambiguously. Russia will not make any compromises regarding its constitutional lands,” proclaims the Telegram channel Kotsnews.

Overt calls for the extermination of Ukraine

Russia’s propagandists use the hypocritical talk of peace as a guise for their bloodthirsty desire to crush Ukrainian resistance. The aggressive rhetoric of Russia’s top officials confirms this.

“We are ready to keep going and crush that viper” — Vladimir Putin.

Screenshot from Operatsia Z: Voenkory Russkoy Vesny on Telegram by IMI

This is yet another piece of evidence that Russia has no interest in peace and only wants a full victory by combat.

  • “We are ready to keep going and crush that viper,” reads a highlight from Vladimir Putin’s speech by the Telegram channel Operatsia Z: Voenkory Russkoy Vesny
  • “The goals of the SMO will, of course, be achieved. We thought this would be better done through diplomacy. If the opposing side and their foreign patrons refuse serious talks, then Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means,” reads another quote from Putin, singled out by the Telegram channel Skabeeva.

Peace talks as a means of stalling

Russian propagandists openly admit that the only reason Russia needs any kind of ceasefire is to regroup and restore its offensive capabilities. Meanwhle any attempts at dialogue on Ukraine’s part are presented as insidious plans to “buy time”, i.e. Ukraine is cynically accused of harbouring similar intentions. In this way Russian media once again justifies Russia’s refusal to take real steps towards peace.

  • “Security guarantees will be used as a guise for preparing Ukraine for a war with Russia. As it was done in the Minsk agreements years,” asserts the Telegram channel Kotsnews. 
  • “Don’t get too happy at Zelenskyi’s agreement to hold a referendum, he will use that referendum as an excuse to browbeat us into a ceasefire so that the UAF gets a breather and the homefront can do some repairs on the critical stuff,” writes the Telegam channel Starshe Eddy.

Nuclear blackmail

Russia is actively exploiting the fear of newly developed weapons, trying to convince the world that any resistance to its aggression will inevitably lead to a global catastrophe, with Moscow presumed to have a technological advantage.

“Oreshnik will enter combat duty by the end of the year” — Putin

Screenshot from Skabeeva on Telegram by IMI

Russian propaganda uses nuclear weapons and new missiles as a point of leverage to blackmail and pressure the international community.

  • “Oreshnik will enter combat duty by the end of the year,” Skabeeva quotes Putin as saying.
  • “Russia’s nuclear forces are more modern than that of any other nuclear state. Our country’s strategic forces are up to 92% cutting edge,” SOLOVIEV boasts.

Blaming Europe for the war

Another narrative pushed by the Russian propaganda is the absurd myth of a “warmongering Europe.” It aims to shift the blame for the war onto the EU. European states and their leaders are portrayed as the main adversaries to peace whose aggressive policies are forcing Russia to continue fighting. Europe is said to be manipulating Ukraine and going against even the United States. This is both an attempt to morally justify Russia’s aggression and a way to prepare the Russians for a prolonged campaign.

  • “New success formula from Kallas: fighting to the last euro,” Skabeeva writes.
  • “Just as Russia and the US are negotiating an end to the conflict, the frigid Europe, led by the half-mad hags Ursula and Kaja, is actively pushing for a war to the last Ukrainian,” claims the Telegram channel Dmitri Medvedev.

Removing the US from the peace process

Russian propaganda makes no effort to hide their desire to fuel the controversies within the West’s coalition. To do so, Russian media portrays the United States, led by Donald Trump, as the reasonable player who can be negotiated with behind Europe’s back, the EU being cast as a band of aggressive hysterics who have lost their common sense. The obvious goal here is to undermine the consolidated support for Ukraine by provoking internal disputes among the allies.

  • “Donald Trump’s administration is putting pressure on the EU states to get them to reject the plan of using Russia’s frozen assets to fund Ukraine,” SOLOVIEV stresses.
  • “Our task, as I have repeatedly written, is the contrary: to remove the United States from the Ukraine conflict. By getting them to at least stop all funding, from the war to the humanitarian sphere,” writes Kotsnews.

Fear of losing the frozen assets

Russian propaganda outlets frame the issue of Europe freezing Russian assets not as a legal dispute, but as an element of pro-mobilization rhetoric: the EU is called a “thief” and the promised response is “retribution.”

“On the theft of Russian assets by the European Union. If the crazed EU does attempt to steal the Russian assets frozen in Belgium by granting Ukraine the so-called reparations loan, such actions may constitute a special sort of casus belli under international law, with all the losses for Brussels and some EU nations it entails. Then retrieving this money may be done not through trial, but as reparations paid in kind by Russia’s certified enemies.”

Screenshot from Dmitri Medvedev on Telegram by IMI

This suggests that the desperate fear of losing the permanently frozen assets is forcing the Kremlin to make threats against Brussels. Thus the Russian regime’s true vulnerability is exposed: it fears economic retribution for its crimes.

  • “On the theft of Russian assets by the European Union. If the crazed EU does attempt to steal the Russian assets frozen in Belgium by granting Ukraine the so-called reparations loan, such actions may constitute a special sort of casus belli under international law, with all the losses for Brussels and some EU nations it entails” writes Dmitri Medvedev on Telegram.

Shifting the blame

To justify Russia’s aggression, as it has been doing for the past 11 years, the Kremlin propaganda is imbuing its content with a basic message: Russia is “not accountable” because they “did not start it.” This lays the foundation for the rest of the narrative: if “others are to blame,” then ultimatums and air strikes can be framed as a reasonable response.

  • “Russia does not consider itself responsible for the deaths in Ukraine, since Moscow did not start this conflict, Putin said,” writes Poddubny |Z|O|V| Edition on Telegram.

Begging for “great power” status

Russia is obsessively seeking recognition as a “great power,” arguing that it is owed “respect” as it tries to make world reckon with its geopolitical appetites through blackmail and military force. Propaganda portrays any criticism of the state’s actions as an act of hostility.

  • “Russia will not start new military operations if other countries treat it with respect, said Vladimir Putin,, – reports Readovka on Telegram. 

Advertising the war

Russian propaganda channels alternate discussions of peace talks with ads for army contracts and volunteer recruitment campaigns. This is another signal that suggests Russia has no plans to end the war and is instead preparing new waves of “cannon fodder.”

This way of mixing overt recruitment efforts in with the “peace” discourse adds to our main conclusion: Russia needs negotiations to serve as a smokescreen and does not see it as a way to end violence.

  • “Recruiting volunteers to sign a CONTRACT DIRECTLY with the Russian Ministry of Defense and receive payments from the Moscow Region Governor. Only for those who are not used to sitting around: 3,000,000₽ paid right away and 5,500,000₽ for the first year of service,” reads an ad shared by most Russian propaganda Telegram channels. 

A smokescreen for escalation

Our analysis of Russian propaganda outlets has shown that Russia uses the idea of “peace” as an insidious means of waging war in the media space, treating diplomacy as nothing more than a temporary smokescreen while new strikes are in the works. None of the scenarios painted by propagandists include the restoration of international law and order. Instead, they consistently work to prepare Russians for a long war by instilling a militarised mindset and promising them a “nuclear shield.”

That is, Russia’s make-believe engagement in the negotiation process is nothing more than a tactical move that aims to legitimise aggression and prepare for the next stages of land grab.

Meanwhile, overstating the dividedness of Western allies and demonising Europe aim to isolate Ukraine from support. The ultimate goal of this strategy remains unchanged: the complete dismantling of Ukrainian statehood with the help of cynical manipulation.

* IMI’s experts reviewed 500 posts made on 1 to 21 December 2025 by the following Telegram channels: Dmitri Medvedev, Skabeeva, Voenkor Kotenok, Starshe Eddy, Kotsnews, Poddubny |Z|О|V| edition, SOLOVIEV, Operatsia Z: Voenkory Russkoy Vesny, Readovka.