In the early hours of June 6, an explosion collapsed the Kakhovka dam, releasing a torrent of water across the Ukrainian countryside and igniting a blame game across social media. Evidence collected by the New York Times indicates that Russia was responsible for the blast, but immediately after the dam gave way, Kremlin-linked accounts launched one of their highest-volume messaging campaigns of the war to convince the world that Ukraine was responsible. The volume of Russian propaganda about the Kakhovka dam outpaced information drives around other wartime flashpoints, including messaging on the Nord Stream bombings and the Bucha massacre. However, the Kremlin’s accusations that Ukraine bombed the dam, that the West helped, and that independent reporters are spreading disinformation to frame Russia for the destruction have failed to generate the level of engagement that other information campaigns have produced. This high volume of content and relatively low level of engagement showcases both the capacity and limitations of Russia’s propaganda machine.
