They portrayed Russians as Asian.
It's a racist ji.had against Russia.
The 'Russians are really Asiatics (sic) at heart' meme has long been used by Westerners, both to demonize Russians
and to excuse Russian misbehavior. For instance, some Western sympathizers have attempted to rationalize the Soviet
soldiers' mass rapes of German women as 'natural' because Russians have been under 'Mongolian' cultural influence,
as if German women had nothing to fear from the 'civilized' white Soviet soldiers.
"Pan-Mongolism--though the word is strange,
My ear acclaims its gongs."
--Vladimir Solovyov
"You are the millions, we are multitude
And multitude and multitude.
Come, fight! Yea, we are Scythians,
Yea, Asians, a squint-eyed, greedy brood."
--Alexander Blok
"They are 'civilised' and 'look like us': the racist coverage of Ukraine.
Are Ukrainians more deserving of sympathy than Afghans and Iraqis? Many seem to think so."
--Moustafa Bayoumi
"These comments point to a pernicious racism that permeates today’s war coverage and seeps into its fabric like a stain
that won’t go away. The implication is clear: war is a natural state for people of color, while white people naturally gravitate
toward peace."