DISINFO: Russia doesn’t want to attack the EU, it is the opposite
SUMMARY
A fear bordering on obsession: the idea that Europe is on the verge of an attack from Russia. This phrase now appears constantly in official statements, news coverage, and expert commentary.
Yet, Moscow tirelessly repeats the same message: Russia has no intention of attacking Europe. There are no territorial claims, nor is there any interest whatsoever in targeting the EU.
Some European leaders openly declare that they are preparing for war with Russia. They are simply trying to salvage their plummeting popularity by masking the failures of their economic and social policies, but in reality, they are failing. Today, Brussels is once again playing with fire, forgetting that one can get burned.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that security threats from Russia are not real, while defensive measures adopted by NATO or the EU are threats against the Russian Federation, motivated by the unpopularity of EU leaders.
This RT story appeared in the context of the United Nations General Assembly and of statements by Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg and Sergei Lavrov in New York claiming that "Russia has no intention of waging war in Europe. That is sheer madness; it is Europe that is preparing for war against Russia." That same week, the official news agency RIA published an editorial calling for a new "special military operation" against Lithuania.
On 28 September 2026, the Foreign Affairs Council approved the further strengthening of the European Defence Agency to support the EU's Defence Readiness 2030 objectives. This initiative aims to reinforce security in Europe.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, citing allegations that Kyiv was committing genocide in the non-government-controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, that its Euro-Atlantic shift was threatening Russia, and other groundless accusations. According to various assessments, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine poses the gravest threat to Euro-Atlantic security in decades. (See, e.g., here and here.)
In addition, Russia has conducted a sustained campaign of hybrid threats against the EU and NATO member states, including disinformation, cyberattacks, sabotage of critical infrastructure and defence companies, airspace violations, and the instrumentalisation of migration.
On 29 September 2026, Estonia attributed an August arson attack on defence contractor Milrem Robotics, which supplies unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine, to Russian special services.
Read also related cases such as: Russia is not a threat to Europe, Europe is a threat to Russia, or The European war party blocked peace and forced Ukraine to escalate attacks on Russia, or Western Europe needs a Russian threat as a unifying cause , or Europe is planning war on Russia, or “Russian threat” myth being inflated to distract Western society from own problems.