Russian Propaganda Pushes Narrative of War With Armenia

A Russian disinformation network has started spreading videos on social media about a possible war between Armenia and Russia.

The campaign began two months before Vladimir Putin publicly warned that Armenia was following the ‘Ukrainian path,’ according to investigators from Agentstvo. Novosti.

Accounts linked to the Russian government published at least 20 fake videos.

The first video, posted on March 6, falsely appeared to be a report from the Institute for the Study of War. It claimed that a victory for Nikol Pashinyan in the elections would lead to conflict with Russia.

On March 24, Kremlin-linked bots released 12 more videos. These claimed that Pashinyan had made a secret deal with Emmanuel Macron: French support in the elections in exchange for Armenia going to war with Russia.

The campaign also spread claims that French military instructors with experience from the war in Ukraine had arrived in Armenia, and that France had supplied Armenia with €50 million in weapons.

In early April, four videos featuring actors from The Office – David Koechner, Andy Buckley, Melora Hardin, and Kate Flannery – appeared online. The actors called on Armenians not to vote for Nikol Pashinyan. The videos were made through Cameo, and parts of the audio were likely generated using AI.

The latest fake video was published on May 11. It claimed that NATO instructors were already working in Armenia and that Pashinyan planned to trigger a conflict with Russia after the elections.

On March 24, fake covers of French newspapers – Libération, Ouest-France, and Actu – were also spread online. The fake covers alleged a secret deal between Pashinyan and Emmanuel Macron.

In early May, another fake story claimed that users on Polymarket were placing bets on a future war between Armenia and Russia. The posts gained tens of thousands of views, although the engagement was likely artificially boosted.

On May 9, Vladimir Putin compared Armenia’s situation to Ukraine’s and said that a referendum on closer ties with Europe would be ‘logical.’ His comments came less than a month before Armenia’s parliamentary elections.

Recently, Armenian investigators published a report claiming that the Russian 102nd Military Base in the Armenian city of Gyumri exerts social, spiritual, and political influence over Armenia.