Kyiv, 2 October 2023 (TDI): The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles during his visit to Ukraine, spoke over the issue of Russian disinformation against Ukraine.
He spoke in a press conference on October 1, in Kyiv. During his remarks, the EU High Representative highlighted that besides a war being fought with classical arms or warfare, there is another war, which is the war of information that is being inflicted by Russia.
He admitted that the war of information has always existed, but now is being used massively and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is being accompanied by massive hybrid attacks.
These include propaganda, manipulation of information, disinformation campaigns, and cyber-attacks on information networks.
“We have to counter this hybrid war, and in particular, we have to fight against disinformation. That’s a high priority for the European Union and Ukraine.”, EU Representative Borrell stressed.
Josep Borrell delineated that through these wars of propaganda & disinformation, Russia is trying to deflect its responsibility for the war, denying the occupation, annexations & atrocities, and blaming others for the consequences of the food & energy crises.
He also added that Russia is trying to make the world believe is innocent of the hunger threat & that the hunger is not created by the naval blockade of the Russian navy.
The West claims that the Russian power is responsible for blocking the export of grain from the Ukrainian ports.
In this regard, he asserted, “We have to fight against twisted narratives, which as I said is nothing new. We have been witnessing this kind of story and narrative during the Cold War, and more recently since the annexation of Crimea.
And we have to fight this battle. We have to win this battle because it is not only about the territory, it’s about the minds of the people.”
He added, “And that’s why we have to build organizations & support entities like the one that I just visited – the Ukrainian Centre for Strategic Communication & Information Security. This Centre is at the forefront of fighting against Russia disinformation.”
Also read: EU Defense Ministers commit to long-term aid for Ukraine
He continued to state that the disinformation ecosystem placed by the Kremlin is not just to undermine Ukraine, but to also undermine the international support to Ukraine.
He expressed that Russia neither holds a positive narrative agenda on cooperation nor peace and for that, there is the ardent need to continue the debunking and fighting against twisted and misleading narratives.
He concluded by highlighting “European Union and Ukraine are supporting the same purpose: Ukraine should prevail and the truth too.”
){kind=link}