Glenn Diesen - Greater Eurasia Podcast Media Manipulation in the Ukraine War: Glenn Diesen at the UN Security Council
Feb 22, 2026
Glenn Diesen, a political analyst and professor of European security and Russian foreign policy, delivers a UN Security Council briefing on how media narratives shape the Ukraine conflict. He discusses how wartime storytelling simplifies complex motives, sustains public support for fighting, and demonizes opponents. He also examines NATO expansion, 2014 events in Kyiv, and why nuance is taboo.
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How Good Versus Evil Framing Kills Diplomacy
- Media narratives simplify complex conflicts into good-versus-evil stories that block diplomatic compromise.
- Glenn Diesen cites Walter Lippmann: once an opponent is demonized, compromise is framed as appeasement and peace becomes unattainable.
Unprovoked Invasion Narrative Forces Escalation
- The dominant 'unprovoked invasion' narrative erases Russian security concerns and makes negotiation politically toxic.
- Diesen argues that framing Russia as expansionist turns any compromise into appeasement and justifies escalating arms supplies.
Western Support After 2014 Remade Ukraine's Institutions
- Western actors treated the 2014 Maidan and aftermath as a democratic revolution despite constitutional breaches and coup-like elements.
- Diesen recounts US/UK intelligence rebuilding Ukrainian services and prosecutions, illustrating active Western influence post‑2014.