In a televised video conference this morning, Vladimir Putin attempted to steal a march on the west by announcing Russia has become the first country to approve a Coronavirus vaccine. This just a month after the UK announced Russian hackers had been attempting to steal Oxford University vaccine research…

The vaccine, which people are already taking in Russia, has not undergone the months-long so-called ‘Phase Three Study’ involving thousands of people that is the international standard to ensure vaccines are safe, meaning that this could go badly wrong for those who take it. In a pointed geopolitical barb harking back to the Cold War’s space race, Putin announced the vaccine would be called Sputnik V…

The genius of Putin’s move today is that now western media will be debating whether the Russian vaccine is safe to use or not, hyping up vaccine skepticism and disinformation. All the while the media are talking up the Kremlin’s place in the world. A disinformation win-win for Putin…