DISINFO: Kyiv and Brussels are the only obstacles to peace
SUMMARY
Russia is for peace and wants to negotiate peace first, then accept a ceasefire later. Ukraine must first renounce NATO and agree to a demilitarised zone without NATO forces before any ceasefire can happen. The Ukrainian proposal : an unconditional truce to start negotiations is a "capitulation". Yet, asking Russia to capitulate, while it is winning on the field is unacceptable. Only fools can be trapped by this trick to steal a Russian victory. It is obvious that the Europeans and Zelensky don’t want peace. They only want to build up forces to attack Russia.
Hopefully, Putin doesn’t accept this unconditional truce, otherwise in a year's time there will be war all over Europe. So, [Russia] must not give in and negotiate all the details, only after that a ceasefire can be proclaimed.
RESPONSE
A recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets portraying the EU and Ukraine as obstacles to peace in Ukraine. As we explore in our article, The Old Deceiver, this is entirely consistent with Moscow’s three-year-long strategy of attempting to claim ownership over the peace narrative while relentlessly pursuing war.
This disinformation story is part of a wider disinformation campaign portraying Europe as a warmongering actor who intends to continue the war in Ukraine even as other actors carry out peace negotiations.
EU officials have repeatedly stated that it is up to Ukraine only, as the victim of Russia’s aggression, to decide when peace talks with Russia may be possible and in which terms to end the war. The European Union is committed to achieving a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine, ensuring that Kyiv’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected.
Pro-Kremlin disinformation has systematically instrumentalised the narrative that Russia wants peace in Ukraine in contrast to the West, but, as evidenced by Russia's actions in Ukraine, such statements are merely empty PR stunts deployed to garner support for Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine.
As EU HRVP Kaja Kallas stated on April 9 2025:
…Russia is still waging a war of aggression against Ukraine, and it shows no signs of abating. Since Ukraine accepted the non-conditional ceasefire, Russia's attacks have only increased. Last weekend we saw the deadliest single attack on Ukrainian children since the start of the full-scale invasion. Our condolences for that. Ukraine is fighting a war that only Russia wants to continue.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Pan-European block plans to attack Russia, that Macron, Starmer and Merz want war, that Militaristic Europe’s goal is to prolong the war in Ukraine, that EU countries try to disrupt Russia-US talks by threatening to deploy troops, and that Macron, Starmer, Zelenskyy and Tusk need a war in Ukraine to stay in power.