EU accuses Russia of disinformation about situation in Donbass | News from Germany about Ukraine | DW

by time news

The European Union is watching the intensification of Moscow’s efforts to “manipulate” information in order to use staged events as a pretext for a military escalation in Ukraine, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell warned on Saturday, February 20.

“The EU is extremely concerned that the staged events… could be used as a pretext for a possible military escalation,” Borrell said in a statement released by the EU foreign service.

“The EU is also seeing increased efforts to manipulate information in support of such goals,” he added.

The warning from the head of European diplomacy came after Russian state media published reports that Ukraine was preparing an offensive in the Donbass.

The EU does not believe the claims about the offensive of Ukraine in the Donbass

“The EU sees no basis for accusations emanating from non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions of a possible attack by Ukraine,” Borrell said in a statement in response to Russian media allegations accusing Kiev of preparing an offensive against rebel enclaves in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. areas.

In this regard, Borrell indicated that the EU fully supports the activities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) observers in Ukraine, adding that they “play a key role” in fact-checking on the ground and in efforts by de-escalation.

Borrell welcomes Kiev’s reserved stance

The head of European diplomacy also expressed concern over the sharp increase in cases of ceasefire violations recorded by the OSCE in the territory between the positions of the separatists and the armed forces of Ukraine.

In his statement, Borrell welcomed the “position of restraint” taken by the Ukrainian side in the face of ongoing provocations and attempts at destabilization.

For their part, EU member states and the United States said they believe Moscow is seeking to create a pretext for attacking Ukraine by faking incidents of violence on the ground and spreading misinformation. US President Joe Biden said on Friday that he is “confident” that Russia will launch another invasion of Ukraine in the coming days. On the presence of all signs that Russia is planning a full-scale attack on Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pointed out on Saturday on the air of the German TV channel ARD.

See also:

You may also like

Leave a Comment