The Kremlin's information operations in Europe have achieved some of their most significant successes in the Western Balkans in areas populated by Orthodox Slavs. The Western Balkans information environment is highly challenging and vulnerable to outside influences. The Russian disinformation campaign in the region has succeeded in penetrating the mainstream media and influencing regional audiences. The pro-Russian narrative dominates across regional print and online media. In Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia, Russian news outlets, fake news portals, and pro-Russian tabloids are increasingly filling the vacuum created by deficient local media capacity. The primary result has been an increasing negative trend in public perceptions of the U.S. and NATO. Declining public support for EU integration and negative perceptions of the West are counter-imposed with positive images of Russia. Combined with the influence of various political, economic and historic factors the Kremlin's tactics are able to widen the gulf by exploiting doubt and introducing disruption. Moscow's goal is to disrupt the integration of the Balkan states into Euro-Atlantic institutions by upsetting regional cooperation; amplifying threat perceptions among the Serb and Orthodox Slav population; reinforcing pre-existing anti-NATO sentiments, myths and grievances related to Western military intervention in the 1990s; and advertising Russian military might with anti-Western and nationalistic rhetoric. Beating state sponsored disinformation campaigns requires both excellent journalism and educated consumers who seek a quality product. It also requires public institutions willing to fight disinformation openly and necessitates funding journalism in places where propaganda predominates. Solely responding to disinformation campaigns is not enough. Because information spreads through the internet at such a rapid pace, a campaign that is purely responsive is not sufficient. Within this challenging environment there are opportunities to shift the dynamics through the application of innovative, pre-emptive solutions that provide for the flow of credible information.