{"id":24306,"date":"2022-07-11T09:45:42","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T06:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disinfo.md\/?p=24306"},"modified":"2025-02-12T08:16:02","modified_gmt":"2025-02-12T06:16:02","slug":"chased-into-europes-embrace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disinfo.md\/en\/chased-into-europes-embrace\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201dChased into Europe\u2019s embrace\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 23 June 2022, the European Council\u00a0granted candidate status<\/a>\u00a0to Ukraine and Moldova and expressed readiness to do the same for Georgia once the priorities specified in the Commission\u2019s opinion on Georgia\u2019s membership application have been addressed.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Russian state-controlled disinformation outlets and their amplifiers seized the truly historic moment to spin their deceitful claims about the EU\u2019s enlargement. While the initial reaction of the pro-Kremlin disinformation ecosystem was\u00a0somewhat reserved<\/a> it quickly turned to recycling some of the well-established pro-Kremlin narratives it had used to discredit the Eastern Partnership in the past.<\/a>\u00a0It was not long until the claims of the\u00a0EU allegedly enslaving neighbouring countries<\/a>, using\u00a0Ukraine and Moldova as political tools<\/a>, and making false promises to\u00a0scam the candidates<\/a>\u00a0started pouring in. Among the more prominent disinformation narratives were also attempts to delegitimise the EU accession process, by claiming the decisions of the Council are\u00a0destructive and rushed <\/a>, and comparing this decision with\u00a0the time it took the EU to grant candidacy status to other countries<\/a>\u00a0to \u201cprove\u201d these claims.<\/p>\n

Some of the more far-out disinformation claims also included false allegations that the candidate status to Moldova was\u00a0given in exchange for joining EU sanctions<\/a>\u00a0against Russia or unfounded claims that\u00a0Romania sought to incorporate Moldova into its territory <\/a>through the EU accession process.<\/p>\n

Targeting the EU\u2019s partners is not a novel exercise for the Kremlin\u2019s propagandists and information manipulators. EUvsDisinfo has catalogued\u00a0more than a few examples<\/a>\u00a0over the years.\u00a0Recycling disinformation<\/a>\u00a0is also a commonly employed tactic. After all, if you repeat a lie enough times, people might start believing it. So far, this seems to be the approach favoured by the pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets to obstruct Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia\u2019s paths to the EU.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, this is a tough balancing act for the Kremlin. On one hand, they have to appear tough and unnerved by the recent decisions of the European Council, claiming that this is \u201can internal EU matter\u201d and\u00a0does not present any threat to Russia<\/a>. On the other hand, the pro-Kremlin disinformation apparatus sustained by exploiting fears and insecurities has to continue decrying \u201cWestern expansionism<\/a>\u201d and drum up the threat of encirclement of Russia. The constant self-victimisation is an important element to rally the people behind the Kremlin\u2019s banners. This point was driven home by Mr. Lavrov claiming that the \u201dEuropean Union and NATO are building a coalition against Moscow\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and even likening these efforts to the Nazi attack on the Soviet Union during the Second World War.<\/p>\n

Boundless Impunity in the Face of War Crimes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Painting its adversaries generously with the \u201cNazi brush\u201d has become one of the\u00a0defining elements<\/a>\u00a0of the pro-Kremlin disinformation about Russia\u2019s unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine. And it goes hand-in-hand with an increasingly aggressive rhetoric, often amounting to\u00a0hate speech<\/a>, to dehumanise and vilify the innocent victims of Russia\u2019s aggression. The Kremlin\u2019s cycle of death and lies continues to spin on with near total impunity to justify the unjustifiable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

On the 27 June, the\u00a0world learned<\/a>\u00a0of a yet another atrocity committed by Russia\u2019s invading forces in Ukraine. A missile strike on a shopping mall in Kremenchuk killed at least 18 people, with dozens more missing in the rubble of the destroyed building. The pro-Kremlin disinformation apparatus quickly deployed the same tactic we have seen time and again, from\u00a0bombing a maternity hospital in Mariupol<\/a>, to covering up\u00a0Russia\u2019s war crimes in Bucha<\/a>. First came the\u00a0silence and denial<\/a>, refusing to admit the attack had occurred. Then came the cries of an alleged\u00a0Ukrainian provocation<\/a>, reminiscent of the debunked\u00a0pro-Kremlin claims about Bucha<\/a>. Once\u00a0more evidence <\/a>was gathered and the culpability could no longer be denied, it was time\u00a0to blame the victims<\/a>, with false claims of Russia hitting a secret Western ammunition and weapons depot. And to top it off with a good measure of distraction, the Russian state-controlled disinformation outlets deployed its favoured tactic of \u201cwhataboutism<\/a>\u201d, making\u00a0false claims<\/a>\u00a0of NATO planning to establish bases in Luhansk.<\/p>\n

None of the Kremlin\u2019s claims are grounded in reality or substantiated by facts, but the human suffering it inflicts and the violence it enables against civilians is all too real. The lies, manipulation and disinformation pave the way for such atrocities and have to be exposed and denounced unequivocally. EUvsDisinfo has already collected\u00a014 000 examples<\/a>\u00a0of Russia\u2019s ongoing disinformation campaigns and will continue to update its repository for as long as the challenge remains.<\/p>\n

Also on EUvsDisinfo\u2019s radar this week:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n