EUvsDisinfo: The Kremlin’s poisoned chalice of peace
Moscow cynically and only in words supports peace efforts, blames Europe and Ukraine for Russian aggression and increases its historical revisionism ahead of the celebrations of the end of World War II.
Russia has been waging an illegal war of aggression against Ukraine for more than three years, and in recent weeks peace has become the main topic. Especially in Washington and Moscow. Undoubtedly, Kiev is the one who wants a just and lasting peace most of all. However, recently the peace proposals have come from Moscow, which unjustly blames Ukraine and Europe for Russian aggression. These attempts at manipulation are as transparent as they are cynical.
In fact, cynicism is a leading approach used by Kremlin disinformation distributors. This is especially visible now, as they are operating in full force in preparation for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. It is not surprising that Moscow is seizing the opportunity for historical revisionism. It is trying to blur the memory of World War II and connect Russia’s aggressive war against Ukraine with the defeat of Nazism 80 years ago. Let's look at the topic in more detail.
Lost in Translation
Putin, who still has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for War Crimes, seems to have discovered a new expression in the dictionary - ceasefire. However, he seems not to have bothered to look up its real meaning. How else could one explain the fact that Russian missiles and drones continue to bomb Ukraine after Putin declared a unilateral ceasefire for Easter?
One possible explanation is that Russia is not really interested in peace and will always find a way to say "no!" under its breath. This is because Russia has always maintained its eccentric idea of peace by building a facade and using calls for peace in the service of war. In other words, Russia wants war, not peace.
Or perhaps this is an attempt to redefine the term "ceasefire" Orwellian and give it the opposite meaning - for example, "ruthless, deliberate and indiscriminate bombing of civilians". This would explain why Russia is violating its own "truce" thousands of times, bombards Kherson and Nikolaev Oblast and killing civilians in Kyiv. So Putin's attempts to give new meaning to words are hardly comparable to, say, Shakespeare's immortal contribution to language. They are simply a bluff to divert attention, through which he pretends to be a peacemaker.
This time we mean it
The extremely transparent ruse of the “Easter ceasefire“ seems to have whetted the appetite for more such tricks, as Putin announced another unilateral “ceasefire“ from May 8 to 10 to mark the end of World War II. Meanwhile, Russian troops “greeted” the call by carrying out a drone strike that killed a 12-year-old girl in Dnepropetrovsk.
The pro-Kremlin disinformation machine immediately sprang into action, showering praise on the beloved leader and his noble quest for peace. Some media outlets noted his paternal care for the fighters in the “special military operation“, while others admired how graciously Putin offered “gestures of goodwill“ to ungrateful Ukraine. And the slander against Ukraine by the Kremlin's information manipulators was, of course, ubiquitous. From the well-known accusations against President Zelensky that he obstructs peace, through qualifications that Ukraine is “terrorist” a country that undermines all peace initiatives, even to the point of preparing apologies for the times when Russia will inevitably break its own fake “truce“.
The Europeans are wrong again
Speaking of apologies, the Kremlin is always looking for someone else to blame for Russian aggression. Last week, Europe came under Moscow's fire again. We heard suggestions that the EU was sabotaging a peace deal because it "hates Russia," even though Russia poses no threat to Europe's security. If we listen to Russian propagandists on prime-time evening news, the latter sounds particularly absurd: they dedicate entire programs to threatening Europe with nuclear annihilation and openly speculate about which European countries will be next to be invaded.
Nazis! Nazis everywhere!
As the 80th anniversary of World War II approaches, Kremlin mouthpieces are increasingly obsessed with another word. You guessed it, it's the word "Nazis". Russia has an obsession with Nazism, and the Kremlin often abuses Nazism as a weapon of information manipulation. One of the most striking examples of historical revisionism is the claim that Russia fought Hitler alone. It denies the fact that 6 million Ukrainians fought against Nazism and that Ukraine was a major battlefield in World War II.
For at least a decade, Russia has been using the disinformation narrative about Nazism to smear Ukraine. Now, on the eve of World War II commemorations, the Kremlin is doing everything it can to suggest that Europe is encouraging a “revival of Nazism“. In the Kremlin's twisted view, it is Europe that is falsifying history, desecrating the memory of Holocaust victims, and fueling Nazi sentiment in Ukraine. And, predictably, Europe’s refusal to accept the propaganda spectacle that Moscow staged in Red Square on May 9th has been seen as evidence of the EU’s “fascist mentality.”
All of these claims are patently false, but they reveal a key tactic for manipulating information based on historical revisionism. The Kremlin will gladly rewrite any page of history, no matter how patently false the result, as long as it allows Moscow to use history as a tool to justify and downplay current Russian aggression.
Other topics in the EUvsDisinfo review:
- A well-known feature of the Kremlin’s disinformation network is that it likes to recycle its lies on a regular basis. And so, the Kremlin’s fabricated narrative about Bucha has resurfaced. Russia has already tried to impose the lies about Bucha that it spread at the UN on the world agenda. Now it is continuing to do so by pushing the obvious untruth that Bucha was a sinister fabrication to justify the war. Make no mistake. This is a deliberate attempt to divert attention from the war crimes that Russia committed in Bucha and elsewhere in Ukraine. Ever since the world learned the horrific truth about Russian atrocities there, Russia has been systematically lying about Bucha. There is tons of evidence of this. There are witness accounts and drone footage of executions. Satellite images show that some of the bodies were lying in the streets weeks before the Russian withdrawal. Now Russia is going even further and accusing Ukraine of prolonging the war. A manipulative tactic that is both cynical and immoral.
- Moscow propagandists often spread conspiracy theories, such as the claim that Prussian-German agents are pushing Poland towards nuclear annihilation. Let's look at the subject in detail. At the heart of every conspiracy theory is the insinuation of the involvement of an unnamed but sinister-sounding "behind the scenes" group - in this case, "Prussian-German agents". This is very similar to the Kremlin's obsession with "Anglo-Saxons" and plays on the "elite versus people" opposition - the Kremlin often uses it to sow public distrust of the authorities. The narrative also suggests that Poland has no control over its security and foreign policy. This is untrue. Poland is not a pawn in some German or American game. Poland is a key player in European security, a logistical hub for military aid to Ukraine, and a defender of NATO's eastern flank. This narrative also raises fears of “nuclear annihilation“ – which is also among the Kremlin's tactics for manipulating information.
- In recent days, we have also seen an example of combining two favorite tactics – spreading fabrications about “color revolutions“ and absurdly vilifying European leaders. The accusation in this case is that Kaia Kallas brought equipment to Moldova to suppress protests. It came in connection with Kallas' recent visit to Moldova, where she expressed support for the country's path to the European Union. The Kremlin has been blunt in its speculation about the nature of European support. In fact, the EU has provided equipment such as body armor, protective helmets, special vehicles, software and communication equipment to the Moldovan National Police to strengthen Moldova's security. To suggest that European support is aimed at inciting “color revolutions“ is deliberately misleading and manipulative. Moreover, it is no coincidence. Moldova has always been under the sights of Kremlin disinformation throughout its path to EU accession. Let us not be deceived.
EUvsDisinfo/ translation: Representation of the European Commission in Bulgaria