When defeat turns into disinformation

Throughout 2025, Russian officials were repeatedly excluded from the governing bodies of international organizations – a direct consequence of the Kremlin’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine and its escalating campaign of hybrid interference around the world. A glimpse of what’s to come?

The year 2025 was a bad year for Russia's international position. As Andrii Sybiha, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, recently described it(opens in a new tab)On Facebook, Ukraine and its allies worked hard throughout the year to ensure that Russian representatives were not elected to the governing bodies of various international organizations. Their efforts were largely successful, despite pro-Russian foreign information manipulation and reference (FIMI) campaigns targeting them.

Sybiha’s guiding post notes that in 2025, Russia was not elected to the executive bodies of 20 international organizations, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). However, Ukraine was elected to the boards of these organizations and others.

Ukraine scored other diplomatic victories. In February 2025, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution(opens in a new tab)condemning Russia's aggression in Ukraine, despite shifting alliances among the UN's largest members. This was just one of several successful resolutions that were unfavorable to Russia. On December 3 last year, for example, the UN General Assembly demanded that Russia to return immediately and unconditionally(opens in a new tab)all Ukrainian children forcibly transferred or deported since 2014.

And two weeks later, the Assembly adopted a resolution(opens in a new tab)condemning the human rights situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including Crimea. The same resolution demanded, among other things, that Russia end all violations and abuses of international human rights law in the territories and provide reliable information on the whereabouts of detained Ukrainian citizens.

Voting patterns may change

A close examination of voting patterns suggests that there may be subtle shifts. Russia has long portrayed itself as a defender of countries in the “Global South,” particularly in Africa, against Western "bullying".(opens in a new tab)But last February, more African countries voted in favor(opens in a new tab)of the Ukraine resolution condemning Russia's aggression than voted against it (a larger number abstained). And on December 3, only one a small number of African countries(opens in a new tab)opposed the recent UN General Assembly resolution calling for the return of Ukrainian children. It is important to note that South Africa – another BRICS country – voted in favor, despite abstaining from the February vote.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, a similar trend emerged. In February, about 20 countries in the region abstained from the Ukraine resolution. which condemned Russian aggression against it.(opens in a new tab), with eight votes against and 11 votes in favor. In December, only four countries abstained from the resolution. which demanded the return of Ukrainian children.(opens in a new tab), only two voted against and 16 voted in favor. Granted, the resolutions were different. But both were harshly critical of Russia, with the resolution on Ukrainian children explicitly condemning Moscow's measures to simplify the procedure for obtaining Russian passports for Ukrainian children.

Rolling loss

After the Kremlin failed to elect its representatives to the boards or block UN General Assembly resolutions criticizing Moscow's behavior, pro-Russian media outlets reacted with predictable anger. After the UNESCO board vote, one such outlet quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying: claiming(opens in a new tab)that the body's leadership is 'moving away from the principles of universality, demonstrating politicization and a desire to 'Ukrainize' the agenda of all the organization's structures'.

Another media source He cited(opens in a new tab)Russia’s permanent representative to the OPCW asserted with Orwellian optimism that the “Euro-Atlantics” had failed to isolate Russia in the body, despite Moscow’s failure to be re-elected to its Executive Council. He also claimed that the “opponents” were able to exclude Russia only through “procedural manipulation, bribery, intimidation of OPCW member states and the spread of false information.”

A constant tactic was to declare victory in the face of failure. Media reported that after Russia was excluded from elections to the board of the International Maritime Organization, the Russian Minister of Transport issued a statement where it was said that(opens in a new tab)“The voting results showed that despite the growing collective opposition to Russian participation in the council, Russia enjoys widespread recognition among IMO members.”

Moscow's rhetoric only intensified after the UN General Assembly adopted resolutions critical of Russia. For example, after the UN General Assembly voted to demand the return of Ukrainian children from Russia, Maria Zabolotskaya, Russia's deputy permanent representative to the UN, claimed(opens in a new tab)"Every vote for the resolution is support for lies, war and confrontation, every vote against is a vote for peace."

A bad reputation can have consequences

The bottom line is that, despite the Kremlin’s strenuous efforts to solicit support from the rest of the world, its efforts are yielding mixed results, at best. While Moscow likes to promote itself as virtually invincible, some countries in the Global South are starting to understand the Russian government’s predatory intentions. The Kremlin thought its unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine would strengthen its political influence in the world. Instead, the conflict has contributed to the erosion of Russia’s influence.

If true, this development is significant. The European External Action Service and the European Union as a whole are of great importance.(opens in a new tab)on multilateralism as the best way to ensure a safe and livable world.

Moscow is being voted out of platforms where mostly well-intentioned countries seek common solutions to common problems. Sooner or later, this loss of soft power will be felt in the realm of hard power.