How Russia blames European governments for war in Ukraine

By analyzing these narratives, we can better grasp Russia's goals at any given time. In our research, we identified six main narratives that Russian state media and pro-Kremlin outlets promoted in the first half of November. 

In the first article of this research, we covered how Russian media and pro-Kremlin websites spread narratives about Russia's victories on the battlefield and the uselessness of supporting Ukraine. 

In the second article, we analyzed the efforts of pro-Russian outlets in Europe to demonize the leadership of European Union member states and institutions, promoting narratives such as "EU leaders are leading their countries to ruin" and "The West is in decline, and a new world order with BRICS is coming."

In this article, we will outline the pro-Kremlin media in EU countries and Canada and specifically how they spread the claim that “The West is to blame for the war in Ukraine,” with the primary objective of shifting responsibility for the war away from Russia, who started it by invading a neighboring independent Ukraine. 

"The West is to blame for the war in Ukraine"

The Czech Republic

Most of the content on the Czech news outlet Pokec24 is copied from Russian state media like RIA Novosti and RT.

Read also: Inside pro-Russian Czech news websites: how Kremlin narratives influence European audiences

This time, on November 4, Pokec24's article titled “The U.S. and Great Britain are pushing ‘continental Europe’ into a fight with Russia” spread statements by Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, in which he accuses the U.S. of inciting war and pushing the EU to join the war against Russia on Ukraine’s side.

• https://www.pokec24.cz/krize-ukrajina/usa-a-velka-britanie-tlaci-kontinentalni-evropu-do-boje-s-ruskem-prohlasil-lavrov/ 

The Czech news website Infokuryr.cz often spreads Russian propaganda, claiming that Russia will win the war, that Western countries will be held responsible for their support of Ukraine, and that EU societies are unwilling to help Ukraine.

To promote the narrative that "The West is to blame for the war in Ukraine," the website posted an article on November 9 titled "Revassalizing Europe: The Real U.S. War Aims in Ukraine." The article, written by a so-called analyst, claims that the U.S. is responsible for the war, accusing it of trying to weaken Russia, control the EU economy, and destroy Ukraine.

• https://www.infokuryr.cz/n/2024/11/09/revassasalizace-evropy-skutecne-valecne-cile-usa-na-ukrajine/ 

The Czech news website Protiproud.info also often spreads pro-Russian propaganda, along with anti-EU, anti-US, and anti-Ukrainian content.

On November 7, it published an article with a propagandistic tone titled: “It’s going pretty fast: Is the Pentagon stopping arms supplies to Kyiv?” The article suggests that Ukraine and the EU are to blame for the war.

• https://protiproud.info/politika/8279-jde-to-dost-rychle-pentagon-zastavuje-kyjevu-dodavky-zbrani-otevrene-okno-prilezitosti-po-rusko-dva-mesice-na-osvobozeni-donbasu-putin-je-strizlivy-se-zapadem-skoncil-dame-vam-vic-prachu-vola-uzkostne-pres-ocean-fiala.htm 

As proved by these examples, all these Czech websites - Pokec24, Infokuryr.cz, and Protiproud.info - openly spread Russian propaganda. They consistently write their reports about Ukraine from Russia's perspective.

France

A strong mouthpiece for the Kremlin in Europe is RT en Français, the French version of Russia’s state-run media RT. Despite efforts to block it, the website continues to spread Russia’s view of the world and its narratives to a French-speaking audience. In November, it actively pushed the message, “The West is to blame for the Russia-Ukraine war.”

For example, RT en Français shared a statement from Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who claimed that "the West did everything to prevent the signing of peace agreements," shifting the blame for the war onto the West.

• https://francais.rt.com/international/114453-robert-fico-chine-craint-conflit

Another article from RT en Français titled "War in Ukraine: 'Peace is not currently in the plans of our adversaries,' says Lavrov," features Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blaming the West for not wanting a political solution to the war. He accuses Ukraine and the West of lacking the will for peace. This narrative is common across all Russian propaganda, from government ministers and state media to Kremlin-backed outlets abroad.

• https://francais.rt.com/international/114405-guerre-ukraine-paix-est-pas

In the first half of November, several French-language pro-Russian propaganda websites, reseauinternational.net, lesmoutonsenrages.fr, mondialisation.ca, and observateurcontinental.fr, have claimed that Poland is planning to declare war on Russia. They were spreading the story that Poland might shoot down Russian missiles and drones near its border, in the sky over Ukraine. The headline reads: "Will Poland Start a War with Russia? A NATO Plan is Ready."

• https://reseauinternational.net/la-pologne-va-t-elle-declencher-une-guerre-avec-la-russie-un-plan-pour-lotan-est-deja-pret/
• https://lesmoutonsenrages.fr/2024/11/16/la-pologne-va-t-elle-declencher-une-guerre-avec-la-russie-un-plan-pour-lotan-est-deja-pret/ 
• https://www.mondialisation.ca/la-pologne-va-t-elle-declencher-une-guerre-avec-la-russie-un-plan-pour-lotan-est-deja-pret/5693964?doing_wp_cron=1731682335.1694641113281250000000 
• https://www.observateurcontinental.fr/?module=articles&action=view&id=6460 

The French-language news website Reseauinternational.net shares fake stories about neo-Nazis in Ukraine, U.S. biolabs, and a strike on "French mercenaries." It blames the West for the war and claims that Russia's victory would benefit the world. The site also features videos from Xavier Moreau, a former French military officer, now a Russian national and Putin supporter.

On November 5, the site posted an article claiming that the West has long wanted to destroy Russia. It echoes Putin’s narrative about Russia facing "existential threats" and tries to shift the blame for the war, which Russia started, onto the West.

• https://reseauinternational.net/le-vieux-reve-occidental-la-destruction-de-la-russie/

Canada

On November 4, an article from the Canada-based website Les 7 du Québec, called "What Will Happen in Russia After the Ukrainian Proxy War?" blamed the West for the war. It writes about Russia's strength and praises its "special military operation" (a term used by Putin’s regime for its war in Ukraine).

• https://les7duquebec.net/archives/295362

Two "analytical" articles from the Canadian-based conspiracy website Centre for Research on Globalization, published in late October, justify Russia's aggression. The articles, "The Ever Widening War" and "U.S. Trying to Use ‘North Korean Troops in Ukraine’ as a Pretext to Get Directly Involved," spread false claims. They say the U.S. made up the story of North Korean troops in Russia to justify getting involved in the war and suggest that American paratroopers are fighting in Ukraine.

• https://www.globalresearch.ca/ever-widening-war-paul-roberts/5871525 
• https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-use-north-korean-troops-ukraine-excuse-get-directly-involved/5871373 

Russia is also trying to influence the Spanish-speaking audience, once again shifting the blame for its aggression. In November, the Spanish-language platform PiensaChile published an article titled “This is Not a Third World War: It is a War ON Terror,” blaming the entire West for the war. The author argues that leaders like Putin, Xi, and other allies show intelligence, integrity, patience, and humanity, while the West and its political and banking elites only care about money and profits.

• https://piensachile.com/2024/10/02/esto-no-es-una-tercera-guerra-mundial-es-una-guerra-del-terror/ 

Germany

In Germany, the pro-Kremlin outlet Pi-news.net, which we have previously caught spreading Russian narratives, published an article on November 25 that blames the West for the war in Ukraine and attacks Ukraine's leadership and European governments.

The article claims that “no one fears negotiations more than Zelenskyy's dictatorial regime in Kyiv, which depends completely on the West.” It also states that NATO and the EU are partly responsible for the war and that the Trump administration will blame Europe because Ukraine is on their continent.

Pi-news.net supports the AfD and belongs to a group of news websites that promote right-wing extremism. In 2021, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Germany designated Pi-news as an 'extremist publication.

• https://www.pi-news.net/2024/11/die-angst-des-westens-vor-dem-frieden/

Anti-spiegel.ru antagonizes the well-known German magazine Der Spiegel. Its editor-in-chief, Thomas Röper, who has lived in Russia for 20 years, criticizes mainstream media and presents Anti-spiegel.ru as an alternative. The pro-Kremlin website spreads pro-Russian propaganda and conspiracy theories, pushing false claims about the Ukraine invasion, including that the Bucha massacre was staged, that the U.S. has biolabs in Ukraine, and that Poland might annex western Ukraine.

In November, it published an article repeating the claim that the West wants to destroy Russia. These are the same narratives heard from Putin and seen in Russian state media, as well as in other pro-Russian outlets across Europe.

The article argues, "In the West, it is dismissed as Russian propaganda that the West is planning and working on the destruction of Russia as a state. The fact that this isn't true is shown by another new project, formally founded by Ukrainians but led by Western intelligence services." This part tries to deflect attention from Russia’s aggression by accusing the West of plotting against Russia.

• https://anti-spiegel.ru/2024/die-plaene-russland-als-staat-zu-zerschlagen-sind-real/

German JournalistenWatch is affiliated with a far-right group and frequently promotes Russian propaganda narratives about Ukraine, the EU, and the West. The outlet supports the AfD party and publishes articles by Russian and pro-Russian journalists. It usually blames German and European politicians who support Ukraine with military aid, calling it an "escalation." However, the outlet never blames Russia for the war or its actions, such as bombing civilians, hospitals, and destroying energy infrastructure. This clearly shows its bias.

On November 16, its article claimed, "With Merz in the Third World War? Germany’s Ukraine escalation alone, if necessary.”

• https://journalistenwatch.com/2024/11/16/mit-merz-in-den-dritten-weltkrieg-deutsche-ukraine-eskalation-notfalls-im-alleingang/

The blog Sicht-vom-hochblauen.de, run by German activist Evelyn Hecht-Galinski, often reposts content from pro-Russian propaganda websites.

On November 16, the blog claimed that Ukraine is becoming a colony of the West. It blamed Western elites and Ukraine’s government for the war, not Russia. The article quoted Ukrainian lawmaker Dubinskiy, a pro-Russian politician now in prison for treason, saying that “the Ukrainian leadership is planning to turn the country into a colony of the West” based on Ukraine’s calls for Western investment and training.

• https://www.sicht-vom-hochblauen.de/die-ukrainische-fuehrung-diskutiert-ueber-die-fortsetzung-des-krieges-gegen-russland-und-plaene-das-land-in-eine-kolonie-des-westens-zu-verwandeln/

Conclusions 

Russia has established a vast network of friendly websites in Western countries, which it uses to disseminate doubt and deflect blame for its war aggression. Russian media and pro-Kremlin outlets regularly accuse the West of escalation, trying to pressure Europeans to influence their governments in ways that benefit Russia.

Russian interference and hybrid efforts are steadily targeting European democracies. Backed by Kremlin-friendly media and new websites, Russian propaganda seeks creative ways to avoid sanctions. Russia's state-run media, RT, is not alone; local pro-Russian outlets freely share or republish Russian disinformation about Ukraine. These narratives attack Ukraine and European leaders and fuel divisions within the EU.

Unfortunately, the EU still lacks effective strategies to counter pro-Russian disinformation.

In the fourth article of this series, we’ll examine pro-Russian media outlets spreading the "neo-Nazi junta in Ukraine" narrative in November.