Russia's missile bluff: Propaganda meets military posturing
Russia conducted a propaganda operation involving the Oreshnik missile to intimidate the West. A special brainstorming session was held at the Kremlin, which led to the renowned phone call to Maria Zakharova during a press conference where she failed to switch off the microphones. The event concluded with a planned appearance by Putin.
On 21 November, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine, testing the Oresznik missile system. President Vladimir Putin stated that the goal was to intimidate the West, which supports Ukraine. According to the "Moscow Times" portal, this was all part of a propaganda campaign executed in stages.
The portal reports that a "brainstorming" took place at the Kremlin with the help of PR experts. The aim was to counteract the deployment of long-range weapons by the Ukrainians, which had been approved by the Americans and the British. They wanted to "scare Berlin and other Europeans into submission," says an informant.
A multi-stage propaganda campaign was eventually crafted. At the Kremlin, there was a desire to promote exaggerated perceptions of Russian military capabilities. The key part of the campaign was the release of a film showing the Oreshnik strike, ensuring it reached social media.
It is known that Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in the propaganda activities, among others. During the now-famous conference, she received a phone call, leaving the microphone active. She was instructed not to comment on the attack on a military facility over the Dnieper. The caller was reportedly Alexey Gromov, the first deputy chief of staff in Putin's administration.
Some of those who were in the brainstorming sessions were particularly proud of that stunt, says one of the Moscow Times' informants.
Vladimir Putin’s participation was planned for the closing stage. At the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit, he extolled the missile's properties. He asserted that there is nothing comparable in the world and that its power rivals that of nuclear missiles. None of the CSTO member countries were forewarned about what the Russian president intended to communicate.
The summit was supposed to address member-state issues. However, the boss [Putin] essentially hijacked the public agenda and used it to threaten Zelensky's allies, says a Moscow Times informant.
Sources from the portal claim that Russia does not have a stockpile of Oresznik systems. Mass production may take many years due to bureaucratic hurdles and a lack of innovation.
