Moscow's Twitter information war goes on despite ban in Russia

Diplomatic accounts spread pro-Kremlin messaging during war with Ukraine

Signs are displayed in support of Ukraine outside Russia's embassy in Berlin. EPA

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Russian diplomats are keeping up their information war from their notoriously provocative Twitter accounts despite the website being banned by Moscow during the war in Ukraine.

The account of the Russian embassy in Britain has continued to post frequently even after it had a tweet removed for making what the UK said were false claims about an attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol.

In recent days it has shared pro-Kremlin messages about alleged Ukrainian atrocities and neo-Nazi influence in the country to its 156,000 Twitter followers.

Other Russian accounts have ridiculed western politicians for mispronouncing Slavic names and promoted Moscow’s messaging that Ukraine was developing chemical weapons, a claim rejected as absurd by Nato countries.

It follows a long line of eyebrow-raising posts over the years which have widely been described as trolling the West over incidents such as the 2018 Salisbury poison attack on a former Russian spy in Britain.

While that information war continues abroad, Russia has blocked access to Twitter and Facebook at home as it tries to control the narrative about the invasion of Ukraine, which it describes as a special military operation.

Screengrab from the Twitter feed of Nadine Dorries showing a tweet by the Russian embassy in the UK, which was branded 'fake news' by the culture secretary and which has been removed by Twitter.

Major European broadcasters pulled staff out of Russia after a law was passed envisaging 15-year prison terms for people who publish what Moscow deems to be disinformation about the armed forces.

The European Union, in turn, has banned Kremlin-owned media channels Russia Today and Sputnik from its airwaves and sanctioned some of Moscow’s most visible representatives.

In Britain, broadcast regulator Ofcom has opened 15 investigations into Russian state-controlled international television network RT after observing a “significant increase” in questionable programming following the invasion of Ukraine.

Twitter has not gone as far as banning RT and news agency Sputnik’s accounts, but stopped advertising from them in 2017 and has acted since the war in Ukraine broke out to reduce their visibility and label them as state-affiliated.

Police officers detain a woman in central Moscow, during a protest against Russian military action in Ukraine. AFP

Children look at phones as people who fled the conflict in Ukraine wait outside an immigration office in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters

Soldiers stand next to a bus with a damaged windscreen, after an attack on the Yavoriv military base, in Novoyavorivsk, Ukraine. Reuters

A soldier waits at a hospital after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters

A wounded soldier is transported by medical workers, at a hospital in Novoyavorivsk, after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters

Rescuers work at the site of an accident after a bus that was carrying about 50 Ukrainian refugees overturned near Forli, central Italy. One person died in the crash. AFP

A man wounded in the air strikes at a nearby military complex is assisted by medical staff outside Novoiavorivsk District Hospital. Getty Images

Paramedics find low ground after an air-raid siren sounds on the outskirts of Novoiavorivsk. Getty Images

A view of a residential building damaged during an air strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Reuters

A tram damaged by shelling sits at a depot, in Kharkiv. AP

An abandoned doll next to a car riddled with bullets in Irpin, north of Kyiv. AFP

A Ukrainian soldier holds a Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon that was used to destroy a Russian armoured personal carrier in Irpin. AFP

Residents try to strengthen the wall of a house damaged by recent shelling, on the outskirts Kyiv. AFP

Firefighters extinguish a blaze at a house after shelling in Kyiv. AFP

A convoy of pro-Russian troops outside the separatist-controlled town of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Reuters

Smoke from shelling rises behind a wreath at a cemetery in Vasylkiv, south-west of Kyiv. AP

A woman stands outside a local hospital, damaged during fighting in Volnovakha. Reuters

People gather in the basement of a local hospital, which was damaged during clashes in Volnovakha. Reuters

A Ukrainian soldier leaves a damaged building after shelling in Kyiv. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AFP

A finance police officer boards Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko's superyacht, which has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste, Italy. Reuters

A Russian KA-52 gunship strikes a Ukrainian military object. AFP

Bystanders watch what appears to be Russian forces arresting Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, a city in south-eastern Ukraine. Reuters

Firefighters battle a blaze at a warehouse storing frozen products hit by shelling in Kvitneve, Kyiv region. Reuters

A soldier loads the cargo hold of a chartered Boeing 747 airplane with duffle bags belonging to US soldiers, during their deployment to Europe, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. AP

Two young girls pray for peace in Ukraine at Lisbon's 16th century Jeronimos Monastery. AP Photo

A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces walks on the debris of a car wash destroyed by Russian bombing in Baryshivka, east of Kyiv. AP Photo

Volunteers pass an improvised path under a destroyed bridge as they help an elderly resident in Irpin, north-west Kyiv. AP Photo

A woman who was evacuated from Irpin kisses a cat wrapped in a blanket at a triage point in Kyiv. AP Photo

An explosion is seen in an apartment building after a Russian army tank fires in Mariupol. AP Photo

A Russian army tank moves through a street on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP Photo

Tonya Steyn, office manager and volunteer co-ordinator, sorts through medical supplies at the non-governmental organisation, SOS International headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. AFP

An overview of damaged buildings and burning fuel storage tanks at Antonov Airport in Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. Maxar Technologies / AFP

The destroyed main building of school number 25, after being bombed in Zhytomyr. EPA

A supporter holds a sign to support Ukraine during Paris' mayor and 'Socialist party' (PS) presidential candidate's campaign meeting in Rennes, western France. AFP

Engagement with tweets labelled in this way — which also include some posts from state-linked outlets in Belarus — has fallen 30 per cent since the new policy was implemented, said Twitter’s head of site integrity Yoel Roth.

The post by the Russian embassy in London was removed for claiming that the maternity hospital attacked in Ukraine was no longer operational and home to Ukrainian neo-Nazis.

Twitter removed the post for violating its rules, while the UK’s Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, whose portfolio includes media regulation, said the post from Russia was “fake news”.

The UK and US have condemned the Russian attack on the maternity hospital, with a top American diplomat describing it as an act of “vile wickedness”.

Twitter said the Russian embassy’s post specifically breached its policies on hateful conduct and abusive behaviour relating to the denial of violent events.