Russia’s Response to U.S. Aid: Shrugs, Disinformation and Warnings of Nuclear War

By Stanislav Kucher

Stanislav Kucher is Editor-in-Chief of the Samizdat Online anti-censorship platform and a former Russian TV presenter. He left Russia in 2019.

SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — Russia’s reaction to the new infusion of U.S. aid for Ukraine has ranged from shrugs to fury, from warnings of nuclear conflagration to arguments that the $61 billion will make no difference. Some top Russian propagandists have responded with conspiracy theories and disinformation. Overall, the Kremlin propaganda apparatus has kicked into high gear – but with a confusing mix of messages.

For months, Russia assumed that this part of its war in Ukraine was won: the flow of billions of dollars in American military aid was ending, and Russian forces would take advantage of shrinking Ukrainian air defenses and a rapidly growing edge in ammunition supplies.

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