Non-proliferation is the effort to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction, including chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons (CBRN) and conventional weapons, such as missiles and small arms.

Numerous documents and strategies aimed at preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction have been adopted at the world level.

However, there are various types of such weapons, such as thermonuclear bombs, sarin, anthrax, and many other chemical and biological agents, which can kill hundreds of thousands of people in a short time interval.

That is why, when we talk about the spread of weapons of mass destruction, the factor of fear, uncertainty, and "invisibility" is very significant, and this topic is suitable for the spread of disinformation in the political struggle and the struggle for supremacy at the global level.

Russian disinformation campaign

The Russian government has been implementing its disinformation strategy on a number of different fronts for years.

One is misinforming the world public about weapons of mass destruction, their production, and their proliferation.

Russian disinformation campaigns when it comes to biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons were noticed even during the use of chemical weapons in Syria and Iraq, but also later, in connection with the poisoning of the Skripal family in the United Kingdom or the poisoning of Alexei Navalny, when the Russian media reported that the opponent Putins regime hospitalized because he got drunk.

But Russian disinformation campaigns about weapons of mass destruction flared up before and during the war in Ukraine.

Thus, Russian officials and the Russian media exaggerated or completely invented the threats allegedly coming from Ukraine to justify the invasion of that country, including the alleged presence of weapons of mass destruction, to conceal the facts and create confusion.

^{Foto: Printscreen (Kremlin.ru)}

In a televised address on February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine, stating, among other things, that Ukraine is preparing and waiting for the right moment to attack Russia and aspiring to acquire nuclear weapons.

Russias state news agency RIA Novosti reported that Ukraine was dangerously close to developing a dirty bomb, a relatively rudimentary type of explosive that disperses radiological material but does not cause a nuclear explosion.

During a speech at the United Nations on March 1, 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated the claims about Ukraines alleged nuclear ambitions but also emphasized that the United States controls laboratories in Ukraine that produce chemical and biological weapons.

The Russian Defense Ministry went further a few days later, claiming that Russia had discovered evidence near Kyiv that the United States and Ukraine were secretly developing biological weapons.

All these statements and messages were sent with one goal - to flood the media information space with false or misleading information.

Russia used several different "tools" to spread that narrative - from messages transmitted by Russian officials, government agencies and organizations, and official spokespeople, through state-linked media organizations and Russian proxy media worldwide, to a network of bots and trolls on social media.

Their aim was not just to convince audiences to believe a particular Kremlin-approved version of events but to challenge the ability of observers to accept any narrative, regardless of the evidence – or lack thereof.

Using significant resources and to shift responsibility for the invasion of Ukraine, and the refugee and energy crisis in Europe, Russia continued to spread its false narratives and disinformation, including those related to conventional weapons but also nuclear, biological, radiological, and chemical weapons.

Thus, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Russia has insisted that it wants to liberate that country from Nazi rule and seeks peace, but Ukraine is aggressive, and the West is creating additional tensions.

Among the most widespread news coming from the kitchen in the Kremlin is that Ukraine is using birds as a biological weapon against Russian forces and that there are programs that will create super warriors to fight Russian soldiers.

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There is no evidence to lend credibility to such claims, but in some cases, Russia has achieved its goal – to reduce or stop support for Ukraine, its people, and its military.

Russia is aware that such topics are frightening and that they bring unrest and fear among citizens everywhere in the world, especially after the coronavirus pandemic.

Regarding biological weapons, the main narrative that Russia has been pushing is that US-funded biological weapons development laboratories are located on the territory of Ukraine and Georgia.

This was also the alleged reason for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The story goes on to say that Russian soldiers were the targets of such weapons and that a particular type of weapon was being created to target only Russians and Slavs, although there was no evidence.

Also, Russia and countries that are its allies, such as China and Iran, spread the narrative that the USA created the coronavirus.

There were also announcements on social networks that the US had transferred toxic chemicals to eastern Ukraine to be used against Russian soldiers.

Such narratives spread on social networks, but not only there.

Russian officials also try to push those narratives through international institutions like the United Nations, OSCE, and others.

Russian narratives about weapons of mass destruction do not bypass Serbia either

Russian narratives and misinformation regarding weapons of mass destruction do not bypass Serbia either.

Mainly because, although the EU banned the broadcasting of the Russian media Sputnik and RT, Sputnik has its correspondent in Belgrade and broadcasts news in the Serbian language, while the Russian state television RT launched a portal in Serbia in mid-November, while it should start by 2024 with work and a television channel.

In addition, in Serbia, the pro-Putin and anti-Western narrative is disseminated through all print media that are under the control of the government - pro-government tabloids, but also newspapers with a long history and established reputation, television with a national frequency, as well as the public service, which in its reports sophisticatedly affirms Moscow and often broadcasts news from Ukraine from Russian channels.

That is why Serbia is fertile ground for spreading disinformation that favors the Kremlin, including those concerning weapons of mass destruction.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Serbian tabloids have reported that biological warfare is being prepared against Russia.

Bats, ready to attack the Russians, is also one of the titles.

The shock of Rogozins claims - the Pentagon in Ukraine was creating a virus against the Slavs - is one of the news reported by some portals.

Chemical weapons? The Ukrainian army is targeting Russian positions with unknown poisonous substances is also one of the headlines reported by the Serbian editorial office of RT.

Documents found in a laboratory in the Kherson region confirmed – that the USA is making biological weapons in Ukraine. This was the news brought by the Russian Sputnik and widely shared by the Serbian media.

The author is data protection manager