DISINFO: The West’s hybrid war against Russia is fraught with nuclear risks

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

DISINFO: The West’s hybrid war against Russia is fraught with nuclear risks

SUMMARY

The hybrid war of the West against Russia is the main threat to strategic stability and the main factor that increases the threat of a nuclear war. Putin has flown aboard a Su-160 M supersonic strategic bomber as part of its crew for 30 minutes. This is not only a very important reminder about his health, but also a reminder to those who are seeking to inflict strategic defeat on Russia and are at the same time offering it dialogue on strategic stability. It is impossible to combine these two things.

RESPONSE

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets accusing Western nations of Russophobia and accusing them of escalating the conflict. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

EU and US leaders are not threatening Russia with nuclear weapons or conventional warfare. They have been trying to establish good-neighbourly relations with Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1997, Russia and NATO signed the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security which said that ‘NATO and Russia do not consider each other as adversaries.’ Several disarmament initiatives have been launched since then.

Ukraine’s partners from a broad coalition of more than countries, including several NATO member states, provide it with military and technical assistance to help it repel Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked aggression. This aid is only aimed at helping Ukraine restore its territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

NATO does not intend to destroy the Russian state. Ukraine’s Western partners do not plan to attack Russia. US President Joe Biden in February 2023 addressed Russian citizens, assuring them that the US does not seek to destroy or control Russia. French president Emmanuel Macron stated in February 2023 as well that ‘Russia must be defeated but not crushed.’

The US, the EU and NATO condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is entirely unjustified and unprovoked. The EU has unequivocally supported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula.

Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Poland wants to provoke a nuclear war with Russia, that The West is waging a cold war with Russia, brandishing nuclear arms, and that Ukraine is trying to create a "second Chernobyl" inside Russia.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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