A severe storm system moved through the Black Sea this week, impacting occupied Crimea and parts of Ukraine and Russia, leaving millions without heat and power. Amid the storm, pro-Kremlin sources re-circulated an old conspiracy theory suggesting US-based entities were complicit in the storm’s creation.

The conspiracy theory accuses the United States of having a technological program that can control the weather. The DFRLab observed five Russian news websites amplifying this old conspiracy theory in the context of the recent storm in Crimea, including Ukraina.ru, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Don24, Crimea News, and Privet Rostov.

The news reports referenced weather manipulation against Russia and suggested a link between geopolitical events and incidences of weather disasters. Text analysis of the five reports revealed that they often used the Russian phrase for “climate weapons” (климатическое оружие). They also referenced the High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the February 2023 earthquake in Turkey. The articles cited two sources to support the theory, including an interview in Ukraina.ru, a Kremlin-affiliated outlet, with Dmitry Efimov, former chief analyst of the Federal Security Service of Russia, and an interview in the pro-Kremlin media outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda with scientist Vladimir Polyakov. The reports also implied a connection between the February 2023 earthquake and the presence of the US destroyer ship USS Nitze in Turkey, but acknowledged a lack of concrete evidence.

The conspiracy theory also received traction on Telegram. Using the Telegram analytics tool TGStat, the DFRLab identified that the Russian phrase for “climate weapons” garnered 1,911,451 views on November 27, and found that Ukraina.ru’s report had been republished by at least six Telegram channels. The conspiracy theory pushed by these news outlets not only seeks to amplify distrust toward the United States but also has the potential to fuel climate denialism. The trend of attributing natural disasters to foreign actors can divert attention from the scientific community’s consensus on the climate crisis and allows states to evade accountability.