Editor's note: Seymur Mammadov is the director of the international expert club EurAsiaAz and editor-in-chief of Azerbaijan news agency Baku Tribune. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN

Russia's special operation in Donbas is not a war between Russia and Ukraine, it is a confrontation between the West and Russia. The public of the countries of the post-Soviet space, which openly advocates support for Ukraine on social networks, is apparently not well aware of the ongoing processes in the world.

In general, the U.S. has the strongest institution of propaganda and the formation of public opinion. The first U.S. propaganda agency, the Committee of Public Information, was created by then U.S. President Woodrow Wilson in April 1917, during World War I, and lasted until August 1919. During World War II, the Office of War Information was established in the U.S., which existed from June 1942 to September 1945. The results of the Cold War, according to U.S. presidential candidate in 2008, Senator John McCain, were largely decided by the massive propaganda of American values, an effective tool of which was the United States Information Agency (USIA), established in 1953 under the State Department. This agency dealt with all issues of propaganda abroad until 1999.

According to RBC Daily, in 2008, work began in the U.S. to restore a centralized system of propaganda work with foreign audiences. The fact that the work to create a centralized propaganda body similar in function to the USIA has moved into practice was announced in March 2008 by Frank Gaffney, head of the Washington-based the Center for Security Policy. In 2009, Doctor of Political Sciences Igor Panarin said that American propaganda is very effective and is able to purposefully influence the European media.

The fact is that the consistency and synchronicity of editorial policy of American and European media during the armed conflict in South Ossetia indicates that the plan for the information cover of the campaign in Georgia was developed for at least a year, and the information aggression was directed by the U.S. leadership.

Earlier, a British newspaper, the Guardian, wrote that the U.S. army will soon be equipped with special software focused on conducting pro-American propaganda through social networks and various blogs. This technology will make it possible to conduct secret blogging activities on foreign sites.

For example, within the framework of this program, fictional virtual identities will be created on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks, which, by all external signs, will appear to be ordinary users from different countries and have a convincing legend. The West itself openly speaks about this - all these propaganda projects are successfully working on the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet, especially on the segment of the post-Soviet space of American social networks.

Currently, panic is being fueled in Ukraine around "Russian aggression." Fake news is used, various tools are used to influence public opinion in Ukraine and the countries of the post-Soviet space. In addition, the U.S. and Europe are pouring as much fuel as possible into the "Ukrainian" fiery whirlpool - they are supplying a colossal amount of weapons to Ukraine in the midst of hostilities, so that what is happening in the conflict zone is dragged out to provoke Russia into a more aggressive special operation in Ukraine.

The American-European propaganda machine has taken deep roots in the public consciousness in the countries of the post-Soviet space - unfortunately, the U.S. has managed to persuade most of the population of the countries of the post-Soviet space to its side - rallies held in support of Ukraine in various countries of the former USSR are a clear example of this.

So what is really going on in Ukraine? Why did Russia decide to conduct a special operation in the Donbas? Frankly, I belong to the category of people who believe that Russia's fears about NATO's advance to its border are justified. NATO was created as a military organization against the Soviet Union. The USSR no longer exists. Why promote NATO to Ukraine and Georgia? If you remember what panic and great concern the U.S. had when Cuba entered the Warsaw Pact, then it becomes clear that Russia is worried about Ukraine and Georgia.

Therefore, I treat with understanding the decision of the President of Russia to announce a special operation in the Donbas. The Warsaw Pact has collapsed, while NATO, on the contrary, is expanding. The question involuntarily arises - why is NATO expanding to the East today? The answer is clear and obvious - the U.S. is trying to achieve the integration of the countries of the post-Soviet space into the North Atlantic Alliance in order to use the territories of these countries as a springboard for the fight against Russia. The ultimate strategic goal is the fragmentation of Russia along the lines of the USSR.

What will happen next on the Russian-Western track, of course, time will tell. But one thing is clear - the U.S. and its allies, by systematically providing Ukraine with weapons in the midst of hostilities, in fact, do not help the Ukrainians, but, on the contrary, further aggravate the already deplorable situation in their country.

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