Photo: Dušan Cvetanović Pixabay
This article was first published by Truthmeter.mk (North Macedonia), within the framework of Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Project.
The attack on a sovereign territory and state, with a democratically elected government, was the basis for the EU and NATO countries to support Ukraine in its right to self-defense. Europe is not afraid of peace with Russia, but rather protects the principles of international law. Although Russia tries to portray its aggression as a “response to the threats of NATO enlargement,” the Nordic countries clearly saw that the problem was whether Ukraine and NATO would accept the use of violence, force to change borders and governments. For NATO, Ukraine, and Europe, achieving a lasting peace means supporting Ukraine in maintaining its independence and preventing Russia from further aggression
We analyze a Facebook post in which a text is shared and it says:
Biblical times are coming. What the Nazi-fascists sowed in the EU with the SS NATO, that is what they will reap.
The text, in turn, is titled “Nightmare of the Elites: Why is Europe so afraid of peace with Russia?”
But, contrary to what has been stated, the thesis that “the EU is at war with Russia” is incorrect. The EU did not initiate the military invasion of Ukraine, it was Russia that did it, and it did so unprovoked. The attack on a sovereign territory and state, with a democratically elected government, was the basis for the EU and NATO countries to support Ukraine in its right to self-defense. Europe is not afraid of peace with Russia, but rather protects the principles of international law. The text claims that “part of Europe is publicly advocating escalation rather than de-escalation in relations with Moscow” and that “Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Moldova, and Romania, which are close to the border with Russia, have adopted an aggressive stance towards Russia because they know they are weak.” It adds that if Russia were to establish good relations with key Western factors, it would “lead to political changes in these countries that would be economically forgotten” and therefore “their strategy does not include withdrawal but continuation of the conflict.”
Contrary to the falsehoods presented in this text, neither Lithuania, nor Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Moldova, and Romania are participants in the war taking place in Ukraine because Russia attacked it.
European Fhaare of the opinion that the threat to the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine is a reason to extend the sanctions until September 15, 2025 and that this is an unjustified and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine. Countries that are territorially close to Russia have a different approach–in addition to being on Russia’s doorstep (territorially close) and at risk of nuclear and conventional escalation (they are at risk of being attacked), Sweden, Finland, and Poland have used Russian threats to strengthen their support for Ukraine rather than condition it.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine was the reason for Sweden and Finland to break away from decades of non-alignment and apply for NATO membership in May 2022. Although Russia is trying to portray its aggression as a “response to threats from NATO enlargement,” the Nordic countries clearly saw that the problem lies in this–whether Ukraine and NATO will accept the use of violence, force to change borders and governments.
When Russia tried to prevent formerly neutral countries from joining NATO, with threats to expand the war and bring additional nuclear weapons to the Baltic region, Sweden and Finland calculated the risk of joining NATO as lower than the risk of Russia achieving its goal through aggression. Russian threats only served to strengthen their relationship with NATO, motivating them to join the Alliance. Sweden and Finland took the threats from Russia seriously.
For NATO, Ukraine, and Europe, achieving lasting peace means supporting Ukraine in maintaining its independence and preventing Russia from further aggression. As Polish President Andrzej Duda said on January 21 of this year–“this is like a comeback of imperialism, Russian imperialism, and we do not want to have that.”
“So we believe that if Russia wins this war against Ukraine, it is going to launch a further attack. It is very simple. If Russia has got this internal conviction that it has been victorious in that conflict, it does not even have to seize the whole of Ukraine. It is not really–it is not important how big that victory would be. If there is this internal conviction that they are victorious, they will attack again. What I always say is that it is not about defeating Russia… The thing is to make it impossible for Russia to win, to prohibit Russia from winning…Another element, of course, is international law. And the primacy of international law is the guarantee of peace. It is about the construction of the free world, ” said the President of Poland.
Indeed, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden stand as a strong unified bloc to strengthen Ukraine, also because of the public support these countries receive from their citizens in the polls. Their shared history of conflict with Russia strengthens these countries’ position against aggression, which makes their interests aligned with those of Ukraine. These countries have signed bilateral agreements with Ukraine, some of them including a specific percentage of their gross domestic product for aid to Ukraine, while supporting its integration into the EU and NATO. They stand by Ukraine because the outcome of the war in Ukraine will have long-term effects on Europe and transatlantic security. Furthermore, they advocate for a peace in which Ukraine is given strong security guarantees.
Contrary to what is stated in the post we are reviewing, the EU and NATO are not represented by “Nazi-fascists” in the governments of the countries mentioned that have territorial proximity to Russia. The EU and NATO are against Nazism and fascism, and “Truthmeter.mk” has already written on this topic.
Due to all the above facts, we assess the post we are reviewing as untrue. The reason why European countries whose borders are close to Russia support Ukraine is the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and the long-term negative security effects that an unprovoked military invasion by Russia could have on Euro-Atlantic stability and security.
