The Russian disinformation campaign in media and official statements to justify its unprovoked attack on Ukraine and its people continue to cross new red lines and to confirm that the first casualty of war is truth.
In its latest disinformation review on Thursday morning, EU East Stratcom Task Force, a task force set up by the European External Action Service (EEAS), gives some examples of new and recycled lies.
From the very start of the war, Russia justified its invasion of Ukraine by claiming that “genocide” is committed in the two pro-Russian breakaway regions, that Ukraine poses a military threat to Russia and that Ukraine is ruled by neo-Nazis and antisemites. These blatant lies are still repeated as if Kremlin believes that more they are repeated the more people will believe them.
The most outrageous new lie is that the European and international sanctions against Russia are to be blamed for the food crisis and the surge in food prices.
In fact, the sanctions target the Russia’s ability to finance its military aggression – the main cause of the looming food crisis. The sanctions exempt export and transactions related to food, agricultural products and humanitarian aid, as confirmed by the deputy chief spokesperson of the European Commission at today’s press conference in Brussels.
By waging war in Ukraine, the breadbasket of Europe, Russia is making it impossible for Ukrainian farmers to harvest and plant for next harvest. By blocking the Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, Russia is preventing the export of much needed Ukrainian grain to the rest of the world.
EU East Stratcom Task Force writes that occasionally old tunes have been put into new use, like the most recent one, where the coronavirus was replaced by a more recent scare, Monkeypox, originating, unsurprisingly, from US biolaboratories.
Also on the Kremlin’s playlist this week:
- Poland wants to expand into Western Ukraine – No, they don’t. Instead, Poland continues to support Ukraine to uphold its territorial integrity with major defence materiel shipments. Poland also supports Ukrainian refugees coming to Poland.
- Russian action in Ukraine aimed at helping civilians, Kyiv must not interfere – No, it did not. In reality, thousands and thousands of Ukrainians have been killed and injured by Russian troops in Moscow’s unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.
- Ukraine is a victim of the collective West, the loss of sovereignty is just a consequence – False again. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically-elected president and parliament. Only the Kremlin seems to have a differing view on this.
The Brussels Times
