How the Kremlin circumvented EU sanctions on Russian state media in the first weeks of the illegal invasion of Ukraine

Abstract

This forum article is about the EU’s sanctions levelled at Russian state media, and the steps the Kremlin took to ensure its war propaganda continued to reach Europe. The article examines Kremlin efforts to coordinate cross-platform influence operations on Telegram, as well as the role of digital diplomacy accounts in partially replacing state media reach. This leads to a discussion on the role of digital diplomacy in war propaganda and some of the consequences for the future of this research field.