DISINFO: European politicians are at the service of weapons manufacturers
SUMMARY
Sending Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine means a bigger involvement of the UK, which is pushing for an escalation of the conflict while experiencing domestic troubles. In this regard, European politicians don’t care about the interest of their populations and are at the service of weapons manufacturing companies.
RESPONSE
By portraying European leaders as being at the service of the weapons industry, this disinformation claim attempts to erode Western support for Ukraine and aid sent for self-defence against Russia’s aggression.
This disinformation claim is also a direct reaction to the announcement that the United Kingdom provided Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine ahead of a coming counteroffensive to liberate Russian-occupied areas. Storm Shadow missile has a firing range of 250 kilometres, which triples Ukraine’s previous maximum range.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the US is prolonging war in Ukraine to benefit from weapons sales, that the European Parliament is financed by US military companies, that Western military aid to Ukraine only will cause more suffering, or that international support for Ukraine starts to decrease due to corruption.