Moscow is trying its best to maintain consistency with the key justification for its invasion of Ukraine, namely to fight “Nazis”, but British military experts say that narrative is becoming increasingly empty.

What the UK Ministry of Defense says:

• The Russian state is trying to maintain consistency with the central narrative it uses to justify the war in Ukraine: the invasion is analogous to the Soviet experience of World War II.
• On April 18, 2023, Russian state media announced the cancellation of this year’s “Immortal Regiment” commemoration marches on the occasion of the “Great Patriotic War” for “security” reasons.
• In fact, it is very likely that the authorities were concerned that the participants would emphasize the extent of recent Russian losses.
• This happened after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the mercenary leader of the “Wagner” PMC, publicly questioned the real existence of “Nazis” in Ukraine, which contradicts Russia’s justification for the war.
• The authorities continued to try to unite the Russian public around polarizing myths about the 1940s.
• On April 12, 2023, the state news agency RIA “Novosti” reported on “unique” documents from the archives of the FSB about the involvement of the Nazis in the murder of 22,000 Polish citizens during the Katyn massacre in 1940.
• In fact, the FSB’s predecessor, the NKVD, is responsible for the mass murder. In 2010, the Russian State Duma officially condemned Joseph Stalin for ordering these murders.