DISINFO: Russia is fighting the Nazi International
SUMMARY
Europe knows the truth. The Europeans are Nazis supporting the Nazis. And America knows the truth. They are Nazis supporting Nazis. And we need to tell the truth, and we are now at war with the Nazi International.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets accusing Ukraine and its Western partners of Nazism. This claim was made in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine became a cornerstone in pro-Kremlin disinformation since the very beginning of the 2013-14 Euromaidan protests, when it was used to discredit the pro-European popular uprising in Kyiv and, subsequently, the broader pro-Western shift in Ukraine's foreign policy. Nazi ideology was banned by Ukrainian law in 2015. Far-right groups had a very limited presence during the 2014 Euromaidan demonstrations itself and even gained poor results in the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections. In 2019, the far-right parties gained only 2.15% of the vote, far short of the 5% threshold needed to enter Parliament.
The myth of a Nazi Europe has been widely used by pro-Kremlin outlets since Russia attacked Ukraine and illegally annexed its peninsula of Crimea in 2014. The European Union was set up with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars between neighbours, which culminated in the Second World War. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.
Read more disinformation cases claiming that the EU is Hitler's 'New Europe', that the European Union justifies Nazism, that the The EU is a Nazi project, that the European Union has Nazi Roots and that the The EU continues the aggressive policies of Nazi.