Russian disinformation leads the KLA to Ukraine

The "Hybrid" organization has made a summary of the false narratives that are produced in Russia and that also target Kosovo. On Monday, this organization published a report, which highlights the similarities of the disinformation of Serbia against Kosovo and Russia against Ukraine

Kosovo and Ukraine are targets of disinformation from Russia, according to the report "Comparison of Ukraine - Kosovo in Russia's disinformation narratives", published on Monday by the "Hybrid" organization. 

Researcher Festim Rizanaj has cited numerous examples of hybrid war through fabricated news that have been used against Kosovo and Ukraine. 

According to Rizanaj, Russia with the occupation of the Crimean peninsula has claimed that it is stopping a genocide against the Russians, trying to create an analogy with NATO's intervention in Kosovo. 

"The claims that the massacres in Buca, Ukraine, and Recak in Kosovo are staged. Lavrov had stated that the same scheme was implemented in Buca as in Recak, hinting that it was staged. Also, one of the narratives is the participation of the Kosovars and the KLA in the war in Ukraine, where Zaharova claimed that the KLA may be present in Ukraine through a group of mercenaries, the KLA may also be involved in trafficking of organs in Ukraine", he said.

Rizanaj has said that Serbia's interest in the Western Balkans is to keep the region tense, preventing the stabilization and consolidation of the West in this area, especially to limit the influence of the US and other Western countries.

According to him, Russia's approach includes smearing critics, twisting unwanted narratives, redirecting accusations at others and intimidating its opponents.

"Even though Kosovo and Russia do not have diplomatic relations, the Kremlin has used the Kosovo issue to reinforce its rhetoric against the West and to influence the politics of the region. Through the veto in the UN, the refusal to recognize Kosovo as an independent state and the support of Serbia in international forums, Russia tries to prevent the integration and international recognition of Kosovo. "Putin also uses Serbian nationalism to maintain his influence in the region and to create challenges for NATO," Rizanaj added.

Alban Zeneli, professor in the Department of Journalism, and co-author of the report, has estimated that the purpose of disinformation sourced from Serbia and Russia is also the obstacle to the integration of Serbs in the society and institutions of Kosovo.

"In Kosovo, we have found that the target audience of this narrative is mainly the Serbian community, who still continue to be informed by the ecosystem of media controlled by Vuçiqi that infiltrate Kosovo. The main purpose of these narratives remains the non-inclusion or obstruction of the inclusion of local Serbs in Kosovo's institutions", Zeneli emphasized.

The journalist from Ukraine, Liudmyla Makei, who lives and works in Kosovo since the war started in her country, has stated that the aim of the Russian hybrid war is to polarize Western societies. 

"Ukrainians know very well the influence of Russian propaganda and narrative. The main rule of this narrative is called 'sharing'. "Russians use the pain of society, for example language, ecology, transport and many other problems and use these topics to create divisions in society," she said.

Filip Stojanovski from the "Metamorphosis" foundation emphasized that Russia invests a lot of money to spread misinformation.

Russia's goals, according to Stojanovski, are to hinder the Euro-Atlantic path and support Ukraine.

"What we see are present throughout the region. We all need more preparation of misinformation. We know that in various reports, a lot of Russian money is invested in propaganda. But what is important is that propaganda grows and is sometimes used as a model. Disinformation narratives are not intended to endear Russia, they work through intimidation and provocation. It is not our intention to unite, but to obstruct the European and Euro-Atlantic path and help Ukraine", he declared.

According to this report, the main pillars of Russian influence in the region are: Serbia, Republika Srpska in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro.