The Institute for the Study of War says Russia’s propaganda machine will likely use the conflict in Israel to erode the West’s support for Ukraine.
“The Kremlin is already and will likely continue to exploit the Hamas attacks in Israel to advance several information operations intended to reduce US and Western support and attention to Ukraine,” wrote the Washington-based think tank on Saturday.
The ISW wrote in its report that after the Hamas attacks on Saturday, the Kremlin amplified information campaigns that accused the West of ignoring Middle East conflicts to support Ukraine. These campaigns also pushed the message that global attention — in particular, resources from the West — would shift from Ukraine to the Middle East.
The institute cited examples like Russian TV host Sergey Mardan stating in his Telegram channel that the West “will take its mind off Ukraine for a while and get busy once again putting out the eternal fire in the Middle East.”
Dividing NATO’s resources on another front is a very likely strategy. It could also just be that, with their stockpiles depleted, the Palestinians decided it was a good moment to strike.