DISINFO: WWI, WWII and the war in Ukraine are examples of Western policy to contain Russia
SUMMARY
The European and Western elites become used to trying to solve their domestic problems through wars. The crusades in the Middle Ages are one example. WWI erupted because European capitals expected that German militarism would target Russia. The Nazi aggression against the Soviet Union was carried out under the motto of Europe’s protection from Bolshevism. Today, European elites are trying to contain Russian thanks to the Ukrainian crisis. The perfidious actions of France and Germany prevented it from being solved back in 2015 in the framework of the Minsk agreements.
RESPONSE
Disinformation about an alleged centuries‑long Western strategy against Russia, used to justify Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine by falsely framing it as a Western policy and portraying Russia as a victim. For background, read our analysis: The “Russophobia” Myth: Appealing to the Lowest Feelings.
Pro-Kremlin outlets are known for manipulating historical events to promote the narrative that European countries have, for centuries, formed an anti-Russian alliance. In doing so, they choose to ignore past conflicts and rivalries among European nations and conflate modern-day Russia with both the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire in a historically questionable manner. See our article Rewriting history: the myth of Russia’s invincibility.
The ongoing Russian war against Ukraine was not provoked by other European countries. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII. Russia has been coming up with different explanations and pretexts for its aggression since the beginning of its hostilities.
Russia did not deliver on its side of the implementation of the Minsk agreements. See the earlier detailed debunk of the claim accusing European countries of undermining the Minsk agreements.
Read earlier disinformation cases claiming that the war in Ukraine is a part of a centuries-long Western anti-Russian strategy, that the EU is taking the Third Reich’s path, that the united Europe repeatedly encroaches on Russia and loses, and that the US-controlled EU is using Ukraine to attack Russia as Napoleon did in 1812.