EUvsDisinfo: Celebrating a new war
We are now in the fourth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow’s true ambitions are well known: to control, conquer and subjugate all of Ukraine, or as much of it as possible. To destroy as much of the Ukrainian economy, agriculture, industry and infrastructure as possible, without distinguishing between civilian and military targets. To kill civilians at random.
War without end and the cult of death
The recent celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II have left clear messages.
Most countries strive to build societies in which there is no place for aggression and war. However, today's Russia is moving along a different trajectory – most, if not all, important aspects of public life are being militarized. Putin's speeches, including the one on May 9, elevate militarization to an almost religious calling – even the Russian Orthodox Church has taken up this message. In Putin's system, war has become a raison d'être, and we cannot expect this trend to stop suddenly.
Recently, Russian state media have adopted the practice of showing widows of military personnel grieving for their fallen husbands, brothers, or sons and bowing to their sacrifice in the name of Russia - the message being that they have fulfilled their highest duty in life. This practice marks a new level in state propaganda and is an obvious attempt to oppose the Russian Committee of Soldiers' Mothers - a previously quite vocal local civil organization, now with restrictions imposed by the courts. In fact, the Russian authorities are introducing a kind of cult of death in parallel with the grandiose military parades that absorb the individual into the collective. This practice is also a clear attempt by Moscow to cover up and overcome a consequence that it has itself caused: namely, the excessively high number of victims.
The new battle: the peace talks
The messages described above come against the backdrop of Moscow’s hesitant approach to the upcoming peace talks. The call for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire by European leaders, supported by the US and Ukraine, and President Zelensky’s challenge to Putin to hold direct talks in Turkey were met with a PR counteroffensive. Russian state and pro-Kremlin media insist that the focus of the talks be on the “root causes” on the problems between Russia and the West.
Russian state media exude confidence, but underneath it is nervousness at the prospect of a face-to-face meeting in Turkey with Zelensky and possibly Trump. Where would that lead? Nervousness is avoided by insisting on first overcoming the so-called “root causes“. For the first time, Russian state media has been mobilized to point out how President Zelensky is not legitimate or how he would reject a meeting. All this is being done to limit expectations for a direct meeting between Putin and Zelensky.
„Root causes“...
The so-called fundamental or „root” causes of the war in Ukraine are a pretext that the Kremlin uses to hinder, delay or completely reject negotiations. The Kremlin's points relate to several obstacles, the key ones of which are: Putin's unilateral demands to NATO since December 2021 (which means returning NATO to its 1997 state, before enlargement); under the pretext of the so-called „denazification“ the removal of the democratically elected President Zelensky and the Ukrainian political leadership is required; and Ukraine must de facto disarm, have the status of a neutral state and not join NATO - possibly with minor, i.e. almost meaningless security guarantees. To this we can add the claim from the Russian side that the occupied Crimea and large parts of Eastern Ukraine are Russian territory.
In all likelihood, Russia's approach is to first address the so-called “root causes” and use this discussion to declare a ceasefire – or rather a pause to restore forces, and then Russia to move on to new battles.
Other topics in this week’s EUvsDisinfo roundup:
- The Kremlin sees the world through its own distorted lens, which is why it this week declared that drug addicts and immoral people run Europe. The claim came just after footage emerged showing French President Emmanuel Macron picking up a crumpled white object from a table he was sitting at next to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a late-night meeting in Kiev. Was it a bag of drugs? Of course not. It was just a crumpled tissue and the French authorities quickly showed how absurd the Kremlin's suggestions were. This is a classic example of the spread of baseless conspiracy theories with hints of drug abuse. They are part of the Kremlin's so-called “haha-ganda“ propaganda by ridicule – to discredit European peace efforts. It is also a cheap way to divert attention from important issues.
- The Kremlin also spread a baseless accusation of colonialism against Europe – that the EU aims to colonize Central Asia to replace the lost Sahel region. This was an attempt to discredit the first EU-Central Asia summit and to divert attention from Russia's own colonial and imperial ambitions. The EU bases its cooperation with partners on shared values, principles and goals. And the EU-Central Asia Strategy outlines as priority areas investments in regional cooperation and partnership for sustainability and prosperity. However, Russia perceives these independent actions by sovereign Central Asian states as a threat to what it considers its “sphere of influence“ – Cold War mentality.
- Finally, Moscow announced that the threats of the EU High Representative Kaia Kallas reveal the EU's disrespect for the victims of World War II. Here we see evidence of a revisionist reading of history that has nothing to do with the truth. Kallas's comment underlines the EU's principled position against legitimizing Russia's military aggression by participating in Kremlin-organized commemorations. This is not a campaign of “Russophobia“, but a defense of shared European values - democracy, peace and respect for sovereignty. In contrast, Russia's use of historical memory to justify aggression is part of a broader campaign of historical revisionism.
Let us not be fooled.
EUvsDisinfo/ translation: European Commission Representation in Bulgaria