The Kyiv Independent examines how Russian propaganda used Ukrainian strike hit Russian-occupied Starobilsk on May 22 to justify subsequent attacks on Kyiv and to reject Zelensky's open letter calling for peace talks.

Drawing on data from LetsData's Vantage, the piece traces 277 Russian-language posts across Telegram and X where the strike was constantly framed as a "terrorist act", with Russian officials further casting limited Western media coverage as complicity.