Institute for the Study of War: Russia likely to use so-called ‘war crime trials’ to propel false narratives about its war.

The U.S. think tank said Russian authorities are likely to try to use sham trials against Ukrainian servicepeople, especially those that defended Mariupol, to falsely frame its full-scale war as a “’de-Nazification’ operation.” Citing the U.K. Defense Ministry, the think tank said Russia’s decision to call its invasion a “special operation,” rather than a war, may limit its ability to “find legal means to punish military dissenters and those who refuse to mobilize.”