--- title: How Russia Gaslights the World. description: "Inside Putin’s geopolitical gaslighting: denials, drones, “little green men,” and sabotage from Crimea to NATO’s doorstep. See how narrative manipulates reality—and what rising provocations signal next. Watch, learn, stay vigilant. Stay ahead of global conflicts with WarFronts Weekly! Get sharp, no-nonsense military analysis straight to your inbox. 📩 Subscribe now: https://subscribepage.io/WarFrontsWeekly Love content? Check out Simon's other YouTube Channels: Megaprojects:https://www.youtube.com/@megaprojects9649 SideProjects: https://www.youtube.com/@Sideprojects Into The Shadows: https://www.youtube.com/@IntotheShadows Today I Found Out: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut Brain Blaze: https://www.youtube.com/@brainblaze6526 Casual Criminalist: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCasualCriminalist Decoding the Unknown: https://www.youtube.com/@decodingtheunknown2373 Places: https://www.youtube.com/@Places302 Celestium: https://www.youtube.com/@ManyColouredShapes PoliticalFronts: http://www.youtube.com/@homefronts 00:00 Introduction 01:40 The Master of Rhetorical Judo 10:33 A Chronic Problem 18:40 An Ongoing Threat 25:11 Something is Coming References https://reportandsupport.kcl.ac.uk/support/what-is-gaslighting https://www.newportinstitute.com/resources/mental-health/whatisgaslightingabuse/ https://www.thehotline.org/resources/what-is-gaslighting/ https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/russias-gray-zone-warfare-campaign-in-europe/ https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/11/russia-gray-zone-aggression-baltic-nordic?lang=en https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/06/myths-and-misconceptions-around-russian-military-intent/myth-1-russia-waging-grey-zone https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31796226 https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/what-invasion-russian-denials-crimea-trigger-war-words-n45666 https://www.brookings.edu/articles/watch-out-for-little-green-men/ https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/why-was-crimea-taken-so-easily https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/05/myths-and-misconceptions-debate-russia/myth-12-crimea-was-always-russian https://www.crisisgroup.org/visual-explainers/conflict-ukraines-donbas-visual-explainer https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/why-ukraine-russia-can-t-agree-autonomy-donbas https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/18/donbas-faultline-ukraine-russia-talks-putin-trump-zelenskyy https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/19/why-does-russia-want-the-donbas-region-so-much.html https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14650045.2024.2401413 https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-crossroads-europe-and-russia https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putins-russia-is-trapped-in-genocidal-denial-over-ukrainian-independence/ https://time.com/6150046/ukraine-statehood-russia-history-putin/ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/peace-is-impossible-while-vladimir-putin-denies-ukraines-right-to-exist/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589 https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-ruthlessly-erasing-ukrainian-identity-in-russian-occupied-ukraine/ https://www.csis.org/analysis/struggle-ukrainian-self-determination-and-identity https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/kremlin-editorial-ukraine-identity-1.6407921 https://www.bbc.com/news/64718139 https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/all-of-ukraine-is-ours-putins-russian-imperialism-is-now-on-full-display/ https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-war-ukraine-identity-history-and-conflict https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseih/2020/07/01/there-is-no-ukraine-fact-checking-the-kremlins-version-of-ukrainian-history/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0q964851po https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10758216.2023.2254915 https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-putin-authorises-military-operations-donbass-domestic-media-2022-02-24/ https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2023/03/how-putins-special-military-operation-became-a-peoples-war?lang=en https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/17/russia-us-news-media-disinformation-campaign-00512173?utmmedium=email&utmsource=substack https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/how-us-can-counter-disinformation-russia-and-china https://theconversation.com/five-disinformation-tactics-russia-is-using-to-try-to-influence-the-us-election-238379 https://www.fpri.org/article/2025/01/the-fight-against-disinformation-a-persistent-challenge-for-democracy/ https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/russian-disinformation-2024-election-storm-1516/index.html https://cepa.org/article/were-winning-say-russias-fake-news-manufacturers/ https://warontherocks.com/2016/10/the-misadventures-of-russia-and-the-united-states-in-syria-complete-strategy-implosion-edition/ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/a-trail-of-broken-ceasefires-in-syria/" url: https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-ljgo-pppuxc.md canonical: https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-ljgo-pppuxc/ datePublished: 2025-09-25T17:01:08.000Z dateModified: 2025-09-25T17:01:08.000Z author: - name: Fronts Staff url: https://fronts.co/authors/fronts-team/ publisher: Fronts type: NewsArticle language: en access: members isAccessibleForFree: false tokens: 1223 --- Inside Putin’s geopolitical gaslighting: denials, drones, “little green men,” and sabotage from Crimea to NATO’s doorstep. See how narrative manipulates reality—and what rising provocations signal next. Watch, learn, stay vigilant. Stay ahead of global conflicts with WarFronts Weekly! Get sharp, no-nonsense military analysis straight to your inbox. 📩 Subscribe now: https://subscribepage.io/WarFrontsWeekly Love content? Check out Simon's other YouTube Channels: Megaprojects:https://www.youtube.com/@megaprojects9649 SideProjects: https://www.youtube.com/@Sideprojects Into The Shadows: https://www.youtube.com/@IntotheShadows Today I Found Out: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut Brain Blaze: https://www.youtube.com/@brainblaze6526 Casual Criminalist: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCasualCriminalist Decoding the Unknown: https://www.youtube.com/@decodingtheunknown2373 Places: https://www.youtube.com/@Places302 Celestium: https://www.youtube.com/@ManyColouredShapes PoliticalFronts: http://www.youtube.com/@homefronts 00:00 Introduction 01:40 The Master of Rhetorical Judo 10:33 A Chronic Problem 18:40 An Ongoing Threat 25:11 Something is Coming References https://reportandsupport.kcl.ac.uk/support/what-is-gaslighting https://www.newportinstitute.com/resources/mental-health/whatisgaslightingabuse/ https://www.thehotline.org/resources/what-is-gaslighting/ https://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/russias-gray-zone-warfare-campaign-in-europe/ https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2024/11/russia-gray-zone-aggression-baltic-nordic?lang=en https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/06/myths-and-misconceptions-around-russian-military-intent/myth-1-russia-waging-grey-zone https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31796226 https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-crisis/what-invasion-russian-denials-crimea-trigger-war-words-n45666 https://www.brookings.edu/articles/watch-out-for-little-green-men/ https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/why-was-crimea-taken-so-easily https://www.chathamhouse.org/2021/05/myths-and-misconceptions-debate-russia/myth-12-crimea-was-always-russian https://www.crisisgroup.org/visual-explainers/conflict-ukraines-donbas-visual-explainer https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/why-ukraine-russia-can-t-agree-autonomy-donbas https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/18/donbas-faultline-ukraine-russia-talks-putin-trump-zelenskyy https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/19/why-does-russia-want-the-donbas-region-so-much.html https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14650045.2024.2401413 https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-crossroads-europe-and-russia https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putins-russia-is-trapped-in-genocidal-denial-over-ukrainian-independence/ https://time.com/6150046/ukraine-statehood-russia-history-putin/ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/peace-is-impossible-while-vladimir-putin-denies-ukraines-right-to-exist/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56720589 https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putin-is-ruthlessly-erasing-ukrainian-identity-in-russian-occupied-ukraine/ https://www.csis.org/analysis/struggle-ukrainian-self-determination-and-identity https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/kremlin-editorial-ukraine-identity-1.6407921 https://www.bbc.com/news/64718139 https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/all-of-ukraine-is-ours-putins-russian-imperialism-is-now-on-full-display/ https://www.csis.org/analysis/russias-war-ukraine-identity-history-and-conflict https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lseih/2020/07/01/there-is-no-ukraine-fact-checking-the-kremlins-version-of-ukrainian-history/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj0q964851po https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10758216.2023.2254915 https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russias-putin-authorises-military-operations-donbass-domestic-media-2022-02-24/ https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2023/03/how-putins-special-military-operation-became-a-peoples-war?lang=en https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/17/russia-us-news-media-disinformation-campaign-00512173?utmmedium=email&utmsource=substack https://www.cfr.org/expert-brief/how-us-can-counter-disinformation-russia-and-china https://theconversation.com/five-disinformation-tactics-russia-is-using-to-try-to-influence-the-us-election-238379 https://www.fpri.org/article/2025/01/the-fight-against-disinformation-a-persistent-challenge-for-democracy/ https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/russian-disinformation-2024-election-storm-1516/index.html https://cepa.org/article/were-winning-say-russias-fake-news-manufacturers/ https://warontherocks.com/2016/10/the-misadventures-of-russia-and-the-united-states-in-syria-complete-strategy-implosion-edition/ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/a-trail-of-broken-ceasefires-in-syria/ --- Full analysis is behind the paywall. Read the gated piece at https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-ljgo-pppuxc/.