Russian Information-Psychological Narrative on Ukraine’s NATO Accession as a “Justification of the War”

Abstract

This interdisciplinary study, situated at the intersection of strategic communications and international relations, examines the Russian information-psychological narrative that portrays Ukraine’s potential accession to NATO as the cause of the so-called “special military operation.” The research identifies the key themes and messages that comprise this narrative and analyzes their impact on Western, Ukrainian, and Russian mass audiences, as well as on political actors involved in strategic decision-making. One significant consequence of this influence was the stance taken by the Trump administration, which effectively denied Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance – at least within a foreseeable historical timeframe.
The year 2025 thus marked a critical threshold, effectively closing a historical chapter spanning a quarter of a century during which Ukraine, albeit inconsistently and with interruptions, pursued the goal of NATO membership – first officially declared by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine in 2002 as a strategic objective of national policy.