Anti-Ukrainian Narratives and Justification of the War as a "Struggle for Peace": Informational Support of Russian Events
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In the second half of 2025, Russian propaganda structures carried out a series of informational events justifying the aggression against Ukraine under the slogan of "fighting fascism." Let us examine which events have already taken place and what informational narratives the occupiers have filled them with.
Generally, the informational promotion of forums involves a large number of state structures. For example, the eponymous main forum "World Public Assembly," which took place at the end of September 2025 in Moscow (World Trade Center Congress Center), involved over 4,000 participants and numerous "discussion platforms," including a separate "Youth" track. The partners of this event included strategic state corporations (notably "Rostec") and news agencies (TASS acting as the "general informational partner").
Thus, on September 21, 2025, on the symbolic International Day of Peace, the "Yalta Youth Online Congress of Peace" (hereinafter referred to as the Yalta Congress) was held in Moscow within the framework of the First World Public Assembly "New World of Conscious Unity." The event was positioned as an international forum of people's diplomacy and dialogue for peace, gathering, according to the organizers, over 4,000 participants from 150+ countries. The initiator and main organizer was the International Union of NGOs "Assembly of Peoples of the World," headed by Secretary General Andrey Belyaninov.
It is important to note that the broad international participation at such platforms is largely simulated. After all, the role of foreign guests in such events is played by students or activists from the countries of the former USSR, Asia, and Africa loyal to Moscow. Their presence is needed for the image of "global support." In the media coverage, the emphasis is placed on Russia's peacekeeping mission and the consolidation of peoples against a common evil, where the role of this "evil" is assigned to Ukraine.
Thus, international "peace forums" serve the function of covering up propaganda: they provide the Kremlin's talking points the appearance of global support, broadcasting them in the form of universal human values.
The opening of the Yalta Congress was accompanied by welcoming addresses from high-ranking Russian officials and allies: in particular, the participants were addressed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin, SCO Secretary General Nurlan Yermekbayev, CIS Secretary General Sergey Lebedev, Speaker of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko, Head of Rossotrudnichestvo Yevgeny Primakov, State Secretary of the Union State of Russia and Belarus Sergey Glazyev, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Moratinos, and even Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner.
The assembly's program included dozens of thematic platforms — from the international media forum "Media in the Service of Humanity" to the youth forum "Generation of Unity," a business forum on social responsibility, a writers' congress, and others. The name of the youth congress clearly refers to the historic Yalta Conference of 1945, the 80th anniversary of which the Russian side widely celebrated throughout 2025.
In March 2025, an "international scientific and diplomatic congress" dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the 1945 Yalta Conference was held at the Livadia Palace (Yalta, occupied Crimea). Its theme was "the formation of a new world order" and "current geopolitical challenges in the era of a shifting balance of power."
The participants of such a forum were about a hundred officials and experts, mostly from Russia, as well as several foreign guests. They planned to send the congress resolution to the UN, creating the appearance of international legitimation. This is a typical ploy: the Kremlin uses the historical brand of Yalta to present its policy as the "new justice" of the world order. According to political scientist Yevheniya Horiunova, these performances give Putin the "illusion of Russia's triumphant return to world politics" on the eve of May 9.
Thus, the Kremlin tried to lend the "Yalta Youth Online Congress of Peace" symbolic legitimacy, hinting at parallels with the Yalta agreements on the post-war world order. The organizers emphasized that the goal is a "new world" based on unity and spiritual values. Belyaninov's speech highlighted the "formation of new contours of international partnership" and shared responsibility for the future in a spirit of respect and traditional values. In reality, however, the composition of the participants and the tone of the speeches demonstrated that the event was organized and informationally supported by Russian state structures to promote their own agenda.
Anti-Ukrainian Rhetoric and "Anti-Fascist" Discourse
Despite the title mentioning "peace," the event's rhetoric was saturated with anti-Ukrainian narratives disguised as a fight against neo-Nazism and historical revisionism. Russian speakers actively exploited the theme of the Second World War, branding opponents as the heirs of Nazism.
In particular, at one of the round tables, a reminder was given about the UN General Assembly resolution of December 17, 2024, on combating the glorification of Nazism, initiated by Russia. This resolution was supported by 119 states, while only 3 delegations (mostly Western countries) voted against it, and another 10 abstained. Russian representatives presented this as proof that the West (hinting at Ukraine as well) is effectively turning a blind eye to the rehabilitation of Nazism, "showing its true attitude towards its own history and participation in the most terrible pages of the 20th century — Nazism and fascism."
Ukraine was not explicitly named in such statements, but in context, it is clear that they mean specifically the "Kyiv regime," which is accused in Russian propaganda of "glorifying Nazis" and rewriting history.
An example of this rhetoric was the theme of preserving the "Yalta-Potsdam architecture of peace." Participants stressed that the current world order, based on the decisions of 1945, is allegedly being destroyed by the actions of the West. Calls were made to rally all "healthy forces" to defend the principles of the UN and the Yalta agreements, to prevent the world from being dragged into an abyss of chaos.
Thus, anti-Ukrainian rhetoric intertwined with anti-Western rhetoric: the Russian side presented itself as the defender of "historical truth" and the legacy of the victory over fascism, implying that Ukraine and its allies are allegedly betraying these principles. Valentina Matviyenko had previously stated openly that to achieve sustainable peace, the West must return to the principles enshrined at the 1945 Yalta Conference, meaning respect for spheres of influence and international law as interpreted by Russia. Similar messages were repeated by other speakers, emphasizing that Moscow is fighting against "neo-Nazism" in Ukraine and thereby fulfilling a global peacekeeping mission.
The informational materials of the congress claimed that Ukraine glorifies traitors and accomplices of Nazism: examples given included the renaming of streets in honor of Stepan Bandera, the "mass demolition of monuments to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War," and other steps of the decommunization policy. Thus, Russian propagandists called Kyiv a "primordially Russian city" that now has a Bandera Avenue, concluding that the Ukrainian leadership has driven the country to a "loss of sovereignty" and turned it into a "colony of the West."
Any actions by Ukraine to assert its own identity were interpreted as signs of neo-Nazism and a "vile policy of deceiving the people." Emotionally charged terms like "bloody Kyiv regime" were intended to shape an image of the Ukrainian government as a criminal junta in the minds of the audience. Through such historical analogies, the Russian side justifies its aggression: if Ukraine is declared a carrier of fascist evil, then military action against it is a "struggle for peace against fascism," a highly moral and necessary mission.
Characteristically, the discrediting of Ukraine occurred not only through historical discourse but also through concrete examples. For instance, Ernesto Guevara (junior), the son of the famous Che Guevara, spoke on one of the panels, expressing support for Russia's foreign policy and sharing Cuba's experience in countering US sanctions. The event's moderator emphasized that after Guevara visited Crimea in 2018, he was added to the database of the Ukrainian website "Myrotvorets" as an "extremist." This fact was deliberately voiced publicly to present Ukraine as a state that persecutes foreign figures for a pro-Russian stance.
Thus, Russian media platforms presented the participation of Che Guevara's son as confirmation of international support for Russia and simultaneously as further proof of the "inadequacy of the Kyiv regime." Through such stories, the image of Ukraine was formed as an aggressive, extremist state that supposedly stands in the way of peace.
Justification of the War as a "Struggle for Peace" and the New World Order
The second key narrative of the congress's informational support was the justification of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine in the context of the struggle for a "just world order" and Russia's peacekeeping mission. The thesis about the formation of a "multipolar world" and opposition to the so-called hegemonism of the West was constantly sounded at the forum.
Representatives of the Russian Federation openly asserted that the West, losing its dominance, has resorted to confrontation and wants to turn the planet into an arena of a "fight without rules." As Marat Berdyev, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, noted, the West's course towards confrontation is no longer limited to Russophobia and is aimed at suppressing any dissent. According to him, the path chosen by the West is turning the global confrontation into "zero-sum games and a fight without rules." Such statements effectively justify Moscow's aggressive actions as a forced response to the "hybrid war of the West." Berdyev emphasized that all countries with independent policies have found themselves in the crosshairs of this war, and although the West is trying to stop the emergence of a multipolar order, this process can no longer be stopped.
Thus, Russian propaganda presented the war against Ukraine not as an act of aggression, but as part of a global confrontation for justice and security. Moscow positions itself as the leader of the "global majority," challenging hegemony. At the assembly, it was stated that the countries of the Global South and East "raise their voices" and firmly declare their desire for a stable multipolar world based on sovereign equality.
"We are the global majority," declared Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev during the discussion, emphasizing that people's diplomacy is now highly demanded and all assembly participants "are writing history that should be immortalized."
This is a message that the majority of the world is supposedly on Russia's side, and the war in Ukraine is merely part of a broader struggle for a "new world of conscious unity."
At the same time, Russian officials directly linked hostilities with humanitarian goals. The thesis about protecting the population of Donbas was repeatedly reiterated. According to Moscow's narrative, the "Kyiv regime" was carrying out a genocide of Russian speakers, and Russia saved millions of people.
Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, for example, stated that about 5 million residents of Donbas and southeastern Ukraine found refuge in Russia, fleeing the genocide of the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime. He explicitly called the Ukrainian government "neo-Nazi" and emphasized that Russia cares for refugees from regions affected by the actions of Ukrainian nationalists. This narrative is intended to justify the military invasion as a mission of rescue and protection, shifting the blame for the suffering of civilians onto the Ukrainian side.
In the speeches at and around the congress, this same idea was observed: they say the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine is a forced step for the sake of peace, to stop the violence and the diktat of the West. The idea of "peace" was used for propaganda purposes: Russia portrayed itself as a peacekeeper fighting "NATO aggression" and "genocide in Donbas," thereby trying to morally justify the continuation of hostilities.
Informational Coverage and Propaganda Platforms
Coverage of the "Yalta Youth Congress of Peace" was widely deployed on information resources controlled by the Russian Federation. The general informational partner of the event was the state agency TASS, which provided numerous reports, interviews, and news from the scene. The Russian "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" and "RIA Novosti" also published materials that conveyed the forum's messages in an emphatically positive tone. The media focused on the representative international composition of the participants, quoted statements about the desire for peace and unity, but at the same time carefully broadcast theses favorable to the Kremlin.
For example, "RIA" relayed S. Lavrov's greetings to the assembly participants, where he noted that the forum brought together representatives of the Global South, who are united by such "spiritual and moral values as patriotism, family, respect for their roots."
Thus, through state media, the idea was promoted that the world (outside the "collective West") supports traditional values along with Russia. Central TV channels and resources of the Russian Ministry of Defense (like "TV Zvezda") covered the forum selectively, focusing on statements about heroism, historical memory, and friendship of peoples that coincide with the official ideology.
To give the event an appearance of authenticity and mass appeal, platforms of "people's diplomacy" created by the Russian authorities themselves were actively involved. For example, the aforementioned "Assembly of Peoples of the World" is effectively an NGO affiliated with the Russian Federation, which receives state support to hold such events. Youth organizations and forums (Russian and pro-Russian foreign ones) were also involved, whose participants were invited to join online. This explains the prefix "online" in the title of the congress—its informational content spread through internet platforms. The event was broadcast on the official website of the assembly and on social networks. Russian diplomatic departments and embassies distributed quotes from speeches, video clips, and greetings on social media.
For example, the Russian Foreign Ministry published a video message from S. Lavrov to the participants on its website and on Facebook, where he called the congress a "vivid example of the demand for people's diplomacy" and wished success in strengthening trust between peoples. The State Duma and the Federation Council also did not remain aloof: news about the events for the 80th anniversary of Yalta and support for the ideas of the forum appeared on their information resources, adding official weight to it.
Importantly, this entire information campaign was built on contrasting images: Russia—as a force of good and peace rallying nations, was contrasted with Ukraine and the West—as a source of wars and injustice. The tone of the coverage remained neutrally pathos-laden but essentially accusatory: the Ukrainian state was portrayed as a puppet of the West, a neo-Nazi aggressor, while the actions of the Russian Federation were noble and defensive.
In fact, the "congress of peace" turned into a propaganda tribune. Through friendly media and official statements, the Russian authorities promoted their own version of events: the war against Ukraine is presented as forced and just, and any criticism directed at the Russian Federation is dismissed as the hypocrisy of those who "themselves support neo-Nazis."
Conclusions. The informational support of the Yalta Youth Congress of Peace on September 21, 2025, showed the coordinated work of the Russian propaganda machine. Under the neutral guise of a "forum for peace," there was an actual promotion of narratives justifying Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine and demonizing the Ukrainian state. By appealing to historical memory (Yalta-1945, victory over Nazism) and using the theme of peacekeeping and traditional values, the Kremlin attempted to legitimize its actions in the eyes of the international audience. State media and official figures of the Russian Federation, quoting statements from the congress, claimed that Russia and the "global majority" are fighting against Nazism and imperialism, and therefore the war in Ukraine is supposedly a just and necessary cause.
Thus, the informational support of these events includes the mobilization of pro-Kremlin media, the organization of international "sympathizer" partners, and the active use of the historical discourse of the Second World War. However, in Ukraine and in the West, such initiatives are viewed exclusively as an element of propaganda and information warfare. For example, even pro-Russian commentators note that any "theatrical negotiations" involving Moscow rather testify to weakness than strength.
Anti-Ukrainian messages — from accusations of glorifying Nazis to the label of a "neo-Nazi regime" — ran like a red thread through all the informational noise surrounding the congress. Therefore, the peace forum became a tool for spreading propaganda intended to influence the youth and the global community, imposing the Kremlin's favored view of the war against Ukraine as a struggle for peace and justice. The Russian authorities have once again demonstrated that even the discourse of peace can be cynically used to justify war and aggression.
It can clearly be stated that the "Yalta Youth Online Congress of Peace" is primarily a propaganda project. It uses peacekeeping rhetoric and student themes as a cover for anti-Ukrainian narratives and the justification of armed aggression.
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