"Europe is tired of Ukrainian refugees": debunking the myth of russian propaganda
We are answering the question of why russia is promoting this message, why right now, and how it concerns the front line.
The media of the aggressor state russian state propaganda is showing more and more creativity in inventing newsbreaks, which discredit it even more.
putin's war against Ukraine has made refugees more than 5 million Ukrainians. Many more people have become internally displaced persons. Some of them may move abroad in the event of a worsening or at least no security improvement in the area of their residence.
Photo AFP
Since the end of February, from the first days of the full-scale war until now, the whole democratic and progressive world has been supporting Ukraine not just in words: Ukrainian communities abroad and foreigners are taking to the streets to protest against aggression.
At the same time, Ukrainians continue to be accepted by the European states and the whole world. Assistance programs have been set up for Ukrainian refugees, and some countries have modified existing migration programs to accelerate integration and provide Ukrainians with better living conditions.
Instead, russia has begun to inflate stories that Ukrainian refugees are no longer welcome in Europe. Unfortunately, there is reason to believe that such statements are aimed primarily at Ukrainians who, by fate, found themselves in the temporarily occupied territories. The message's purpose is to persuade people not to evacuate. Thus, it would complicate the advance and counterattack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Naturally, the messages appear on the same resources under the names of the same authors, indicating the probable orders for such materials.
The truth has never been russian media's strength
First, if we talk about respectable publications and research, russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, on the contrary, has made the world more sensitive to refugees. In particular, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees explained that people became more sympathetic to Ukrainian refugees. They see how brutal and terrible the war and the destruction it brings are.
Indeed, the putin regime's war has become one of the most covered by the media. Ukraine has long been open and known to the Western media. Some even have their own correspondents in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. Therefore, the information reaches the Western world directly quite quickly. And the Western reader has no reason not to trust their own media, even those who work abroad.
In addition, speaking of EU member states, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said in late March that the countries of the Old World would definitely accept all those in need of shelter from Ukraine.
Why is russia promoting these messages right now?
The first similar messages began to appear on the eve of May 9. It was then that the whole world was waiting for a possible declaration of a full-scale war, a mass advance to the east and south, and an attempt to impose russia's authority in the occupied territories.
In addition, the first wave of refugees had just ended, and the second had not yet begun. Those who arrived in March-April have already registered, received shelter, and started arranging their temporary home. It is difficult to assume that just a few reports from dubious sources could influence the decisions of those Ukrainians who have already found themselves abroad to return to Ukraine.
russia is trying to divert attention from various sanctions, from the sinking of its best warship and the lack of even tactical successes in both Donbas and southern Ukraine.
In addition, arms and equipment supplies from partner countries to Ukraine are not happening as fast as we would like. Therefore, this is the message in the canvas — that no one needs Ukraine, and the West has definitely left it to chance. It is an attempt to discredit not only Ukrainians but the whole of Europe.
At the same time, the Western media never published news about any incidents with refugees from Ukraine. One of the reasons is that Ukrainians, though not all of them, have often been abroad before. All thanks to the visa-free regime in Europe. Ukrainians are educated and cultured. They often speak several languages, especially young people. There is simply no reason for any speculation because Ukrainians and the Ukrainian authorities constantly thank the world for their support and acceptance of Ukrainian refugees.
Attempts by putin's media to advocate fatigue from Ukrainian refugees in Europe are aimed at dispersing the wave of disinformation spread by russian cells in the EU. But this voice is so inconspicuous that even EU leaders do not consider it necessary to pay attention to it in their numerous media and European Union institutions. Moreover, the European Commission and the European Parliament have already recommended the Council of the EU to support granting Ukraine the EU candidate status. The decision of the EU Council on June 23-25 will be the best answer to the question of what tires Europe: putin's senseless war or refugees from Ukraine.
