DISINFO: The EU seeks to commit genocide of Ukrainians
SUMMARY
The European Union wants to perpetrate genocide against Ukrainians. This is what follows from an article by HRVP Josep Borrell. Russians and Ukrainians can neither reconcile nor live normally. The lure of reconciliation between them is erroneous, according to Borrell.
RESPONSE
This is a case of a subtle but powerful disinformation technique often used by pro-Kremlin outlets (see more on our X account here). This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
HRVP Josep Borrell said in an Op-ed, published in l’Obs: “Et une fois de plus, les tentations de conciliation refont surface. Ces idées étaient erronées en 2022, et elles le restent aujourd’hui”, which can be translated into English as follows: ‘And once again, the temptations of conciliation resurface. These ideas were wrong in 2022, and they remain wrong today.’
The Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said in a statement that Borrell was speaking about ‘Russia and Ukraine’. She called his words ‘monstrous’ and ‘shocking’.
In reality, Borrell’s words were about the impossibility of reconciliation between the EU and Russia currently. Borrell’s statement was taken out of context and twisted to portray the EU as warmongering. This technique, frequently used by pro-Kremlin outlets, involves twisting words to attack someone's reputation by altering the intended meaning. This practice is not just misleading; it's a deliberate distortion.
Similarly, Moscow's appeals for "peace talks" are often merely disguises for demands that Ukraine surrender. We have analysed this disinfo tactic in several articles, especially: "Prepare for winter" (30 Nov. 2023), "Russian so-called ‘peace proposals’ are empty PR stunts" (18 Jan. 2023), "What He Said and What it Really Means – Vol. 2: “Negotiations” (1. March 2022) and "The Kremlin security demands" (21 Dec. 2021).
EU-Russian relations deteriorated sharply in the wake of Moscow's unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine, launched on 24 February 2022.
Zakharova again tried to remove focus from the fact that Russia started the war and that Russia can end the war by stopping its invasion of Ukraine as the EU Council Conclusions of 09 February 2023 state unequivocally:
"Russia must stop this atrocious war immediately. The European Union will stand by Ukraine with its steadfast support for as long as it takes.".
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that EU does not want peace, only total defeat of Russia, that The West keeps Ukraine from talks with Russia, and that The US will fight Russia until the last Ukrainian.