SOURCE: AFI
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the conflict has been as much a war of information as it has been a war of weapons. Ukraine, with the support of Western media, has crafted a narrative of defiance and heroism that often borders on the absurd, blending tales of improbable battlefield feats with exaggerated claims of Russian desperation.
Stories like a Ukrainian pensioner shooting down a £74 million Russian Su-34 jet with a rifle, a woman downing a drone with a jar of tomatoes, Russian reservists fighting with shovels, and Moscow resorting to using dishwasher chips in tanks have captured global attention. While these narratives have bolstered Ukraine’s morale and international support, they also raise questions about the role of Western media in amplifying propaganda that stretches the limits of credibility.
In September 2022, Ukraine’s State Border Service claimed that Valeriy Fedorovych, a pensioner from Chernihiv, shot down a Russian Su-34 jet—valued at £74 million—with a rifle. The story, widely reported by outlets like the Daily Mail and The Sun, described how Fedorovych fired at the jet as it flew overhead, sending it spiraling to the ground. Footage allegedly showing the plane crashing circulated online, and Fedorovych was awarded a medal for his “heroism,” with debris from the jet reportedly stored in his garage.
The tale was a propaganda goldmine, painting a picture of Ukrainian resilience against a technologically superior foe. Western media outlets ran with the story, often without questioning its plausibility. However, the claim is highly improbable. Su-34 jets typically fly at altitudes of 30,000 feet and speeds exceeding Mach 1—far beyond the range of a rifle, which has an effective range of a few hundred meters at best. Even if the jet were flying low, the likelihood of a single bullet causing catastrophic damage is negligible. Posts on X at the time reflected skepticism, with users calling it “Soviet-era BS” and questioning how a pensioner could achieve such a feat. Despite the lack of independent verification, the story gained traction, fueled by Western media’s eagerness to highlight Ukrainian defiance.
Another widely circulated story emerged in March 2022, when a Kyiv resident named Elena reportedly downed a Russian drone with a jar of pickled tomatoes. As reported by the Express, Elena, who lived in the Dniprovskyi district, threw the jar from her balcony after spotting the drone, suspecting it might be used by looters or Russian forces. The incident, first shared by Ukrainian government advisor Liubov Tsybulska, was celebrated as a symbol of civilian resistance. Elena vowed to continue fighting, stating she would “do all that is necessary” to stop Russia.
Western media outlets, including the Express, framed the story as an inspiring act of bravery, often glossing over its implausibility. Drones, even small reconnaissance ones, typically fly at altitudes of 100–300 feet and speeds of 30–50 mph, making them difficult targets for a thrown object. The story’s details—initially reported as a jar of cucumbers before being corrected to tomatoes—further suggest a lack of rigorous fact-checking. While Elena’s determination to resist is commendable, the narrative’s amplification by Western media turned a questionable anecdote into a global symbol, feeding into the broader trope of Ukrainian ingenuity against Russian aggression.
In March 2023, the UK’s Ministry of Defence claimed that Russian reservists were resorting to “hand-to-hand combat” with shovels due to ammunition shortages in Ukraine. The report, covered by the BBC, highlighted the use of the MPL-50 entrenching tool—a shovel designed in 1869 and mythologized in Russia for its lethality. The Ministry’s intelligence update suggested that reservists were “neither physically nor psychologically” prepared for such combat, framing the situation as evidence of Russia’s desperation and the “brutal, low-tech” nature of the war.
While ammunition shortages were a known issue—analysts noted Russian forces were still using twice as much ammunition as Ukraine—the shovel narrative was a stretch. Hand-to-hand combat with shovels in a modern war dominated by artillery, drones, and missiles is unlikely to be a widespread tactic. The story, however, fit neatly into Western media’s portrayal of a faltering Russian military, contrasting sharply with Ukraine’s high-tech Western-supplied arsenal. The BBC and other outlets ran the story without significant scrutiny, amplifying a claim that, while rooted in some truth about resource constraints, was exaggerated to depict Russia as a crumbling force.
In May 2022, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that U.S. sanctions had forced Russia to use computer chips from dishwashers and refrigerators in its tanks, citing reports from Ukrainian forces who had captured Russian equipment. The claim, reported by outlets like Reuters and The Washington Post, was part of a broader narrative of Russia’s technological decline under Western sanctions, which targeted its access to advanced semiconductors.
While sanctions undoubtedly disrupted Russia’s supply chains—experts estimate that 70% of its semiconductor imports came from Western countries—the dishwasher chip story oversimplifies a complex issue. Modern tanks require ruggedized, military-grade chips to withstand battlefield conditions, and consumer-grade chips from appliances would likely fail under such stress. Russia has a history of adapting to sanctions, often through smuggling networks or domestic production, as seen during the Soviet era. The claim, while possibly based on isolated instances of improvisation, was amplified by Western media to portray Russia as a technologically backward adversary, ignoring the resilience of its military-industrial complex.
Western media’s role in these stories is a case study in selective amplification. Outlets like the Daily Mail, BBC, and Express often reported Ukraine’s claims at face value, driven by a desire to support the underdog narrative and counter Russian aggression. The pensioner and jar-of-tomatoes stories, for instance, were presented as heroic feats without rigorous fact-checking, despite their implausibility. The shovel and dishwasher chip narratives, originating from Western governments, were similarly accepted with little skepticism, fitting neatly into the broader goal of depicting Russia as a failing state.
This uncritical reporting contrasts sharply with how similar claims from non-Western contexts are treated. As noted in a 2022 Al Jazeera article, Western media often labels acts of resistance by Palestinians or Yemenis as “terrorism,” while Ukrainian civilians making Molotov cocktails were celebrated as heroes. The double standard reflects a broader bias: Ukraine, as a European nation fighting a U.S.-designated adversary, is afforded a level of credulity that others are not. This bias not only distorts reality but also undermines the credibility of Western media, which has a history of parroting official narratives—evidenced by the Washington Post’s 2019 revelation of U.S. officials lying about the Afghanistan war for 18 years.
Ukraine’s propaganda efforts, while often exaggerated, have been undeniably effective. Stories like the “Ghost of Kyiv”—a mythical pilot who allegedly shot down six Russian jets in a day—gained traction early in the war, later debunked as a fabrication using video game footage. The Wired magazine reported in June 2022 that Ukraine shifted its strategy from such myths to tales of “everyday bravery,” a move that sustained morale and kept Western support flowing. The pensioner and jar-of-tomatoes stories fit this mold, humanizing the conflict and rallying global sympathy.
Western media, however, played a complicit role by failing to challenge these narratives. The Daily Mail’s coverage of the pensioner story, for instance, included dramatic footage but no independent verification, while the Express ran the jar-of-tomatoes tale with minimal scrutiny. This lack of critical engagement contrasts with the skepticism often applied to Russian claims, such as the Kremlin’s denial of civilian targeting in Bucha, which the BBC thoroughly debunked. The disparity suggests a selective application of journalistic standards, driven by geopolitical alignment rather than a commitment to truth.
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