The narrative of Ukraine's ‘fatigue’ is dangerous because it leads to the idea that since everyone is tired, the war should end on Russia's terms.
Russia is unable to win on the battlefield, so it is trying to win the war through information pressure, a split in society and disbelief.
Russia cannot capture and hold large Ukrainian cities:
- Throughout the full-scale invasion, Russia has managed to capture only one regional centre, Kherson, which was occupied from 2 March to 11 November 2022, and which it finally lost.
- Other occupied territories are mostly small towns and villages.
- Despite the Kremlin's claims that Kyiv would be taken 'in three days', the Russian army was defeated near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and later in Kherson.
In Ukraine, Russia is promoting narratives of 'fatigue' and 'impossibility of Ukraine's victory', while simultaneously fuelling the search for 'those who are guilty' in order to split the Ukrainian society:
- Fake evacuation notices in Kharkiv: in April 2024, residents of the city received fake messages allegedly from the government calling for them to leave the city, causing panic. The FSB and GRU organised the campaign through the Leer-3 system, which mimics mobile SMS towers (Source: Reuters).
- Manipulations in social media: paid posts aimed to spread panic, fuel distrust, and divide Ukrainian society using emotionally charged content. In April 2024, the Centre for Strategic Communications analysed 12 key narratives that Russian disinformers actively promoted on Facebook. (Source: Centre for Strategic Communications).
- Using TikTok for disinformation: Russian intelligence services actively distributed videos to increase disbelief in the Ukrainian government and discredit Western support, using the social network's algorithms (Source: Center for Strategic Communications).
Russia's information warfare is not limited to Ukraine. It actively works to erode international support using a combination of propaganda
, political manipulation, and social media disinformation:
- Promoting the message that "assistance to Ukraine is useless".
- Using populist movements to weaken support.
- Disinformation on social media - spreading falsehoods to undermine trust in Ukraine and Western aid.
As polls show, Germany, where military aid to Ukraine is heavily debated, remains a strong supporter.
According to a survey conducted by the Wahlen Research Group for ZDF Frontal in February 2025:
- 67% of German citizens support military assistance to Ukraine.
- 27% are in favour of increasing support.
- 40% believe that it should be continued at the current level.
- Only 27% of respondents favoured reducing arms supplies to Ukraine.
Security expert Jana Puglierin of the European Council on Foreign Relations said in an interview with ZDF frontal:
This means that the Ukraine fatigue that politicians sometimes talk about is not reflected in the population.
Russia's failure on the battlefield forces it to wage war in our minds. The response must be clear: resist manipulation, expose disinformation, strengthen unity, and ensure continued Western support. The fight is not just military - it's informational, and Ukraine must win both.
