A report by India’s Economic Times on March 1, 2022, claimed Russian forces seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, closed since the 1986 disaster, due to suspicions that Ukraine was secretly producing 8–10 nuclear bombs using plutonium-239, allegedly with foreign backing.
The report lacked credible evidence or sourcing, relying on Russian military claims without independent verification.
Ukraine, a non-nuclear state under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, had no known nuclear weapons program, and IAEA inspections in 2021 found no evidence of such activities at Chernobyl.
The claim aligns with Russia’s narrative of “denazification” and “demilitarization,” used to justify its February 24 invasion, but experts dismissed it as propaganda to exaggerate threats and rally domestic support.
Chechen Assassination Plot Allegations
On March 1, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council head, Oleksiy Danilov, claimed, per The Times of Israel, that a Chechen assassination squad sent to kill President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was “eliminated” after tips from anti-war FSB agents in Russia.
The unverifiable story suggested internal Russian dissent but lacked corroboration, as independent observers could not confirm the plot or defections.
Such claims fueled Ukraine’s narrative of resilience, with Zelenskyy surviving multiple reported assassination attempts, but their opacity mirrors the disinformation environment, where both sides leveraged unverified stories to shape perceptions amid intense fighting in Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Russian State Media’s Narrative
Russian state-owned Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik framed the invasion as a “special military operation” to protect Donbas separatists, inflating the size of Russian-controlled territory and echoing Kremlin claims of “demilitarization” and “denazification.”
The Conversation noted RT’s history of aligning with Moscow’s interests, portraying Ukraine’s government as far-right to delegitimize it.
This narrative, rooted in Russia’s 2014 Crimea annexation rhetoric, faced global backlash.
On March 1, the EU banned RT and Sputnik broadcasts, citing disinformation, while Google blocked their YouTube channels in Europe and paused monetization, as announced by Google’s Kent Walker.
The bans aimed to curb Kremlin propaganda but sparked debates over censorship, with RT claiming it was “canceled” for its perspective.
Disinformation’s Broader Impact
The spread of unverified claims, from Chernobyl’s alleged nuclear threat to Chechen plots, reflects the information war paralleling the physical conflict, which killed 352 civilians, including 14 children, and displaced 836,000 by March 2, per Ukrainian and UN data.
Russian media amplified narratives to justify the invasion, while Ukraine countered with stories of resistance, like repelling attacks in Kharkiv.
Global responses, including SWIFT sanctions and corporate withdrawals by Apple and ExxonMobil, intensified Russia’s isolation.
Posts on X in 2022 highlighted skepticism, with users questioning Economic Times’s credibility and RT’s distortions.
The crisis, alongside issues like African students’ border discrimination and UNEA-5’s environmental talks, underscored a global struggle against misinformation.
Context and Verification Challenges
By 2025, disinformation from 2022 remains a cautionary tale, with Russia’s 2022 nuclear alert and Belarus’ nuclear hosting shift amplifying fears.
The ICC’s war crimes probe into Russia’s actions and Ukraine’s EU bid, supported by Eastern Europe, highlight the invasion’s lasting stakes.
Independent verification remains difficult, with Russia restricting media and Ukraine under wartime censorship.
The Chernobyl claim, debunked by IAEA and Western intelligence, exemplifies how unverified reports fuel confusion, necessitating critical scrutiny of sources like Economic Times or state-backed RT in a polarized information landscape.
