For the Kremlin, highlighting secessionist movements in the UK and other countries is nothing new, and distinguishing between Russia’s verbal support for these movements and the actual increase in secessionist views is not an easy task.

But the increase in media coverage is happening at a time when discussion about Russia’s role in European politics has intensified again; after recently Andy Burnham, the UK prime minister, said “it is clear” that Moscow interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Analysts say this type of media coverage shows that the Kremlin has doubled its efforts to project an image of Europe as a continent increasingly split and moving toward divergence; an effort that is being pursued alongside the ongoing confrontation over the war in Ukraine.