Kremlin denies it will invade European countries: it said that about Ukraine in 2014 and 2022

Vladimir Putin's dictatorship has been using lies so systematically for years that it has lost any semblance of credibility.

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Lavrov: “We know nothing about our 'plans to attack Europe'”

Today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a Hungarian newspaper in an interview that "we know nothing about our 'plans to attack Europe,' let alone 'occupy' it," in response to a question about Western accusations that Russia has invasion plans. Lavrov added: "They constantly demonize our country through media manipulation. The thesis about the alleged imperialist ambitions of the Russian leadership is gaining ground in the public consciousness."

In truth, considering that Russia has been murdering defenseless civilians in an unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine for three years, in which the Russian invaders are committing countless war crimes and crimes against humanity, the alleged demonization of Russia is simply a matter of showing the facts. The difference is that in democratic countries there is freedom of the press, something that does not exist in a dictatorship like Russia, where censorship is increasingly imposed in more areas.

Lavrov also denied that Russia would cross Ukraine's border after annexing Crimea

As for Lavrov's denial of Russia's intentions to invade European countries, it is worth remembering that on March 29, 2014, Lavrov denied that Russia had any intentions of invading Ukrainian territory: "We have absolutely no intention or interest in crossing the border with Ukraine," he told the Russian television channel Vesti 24. Eleven days earlier, on March 18, Russia had illegally annexed the region Ukrainian Crimea after occupying it with Russian military forces. This was the reason that led NATO to implement its Enhanced Military Presence (eFP) operation on its eastern flank, an operation still in effect.

Russia also denied invading Ukraine until a week before it began

The Kremlin repeated this deception operation eight years later with its full-scale invasion of the rest of Ukraine. Today we know that the orders for the invasion were signed on January 18, 2022. This is the date shown on the Russian plans captured by Ukrainian forces. On January 21, Russia denied that it had any intention of invading Ukraine, and on February 1, it even denied having deployed 100,000 soldiers along Ukraine's borders, which was yet another lie. On February 17, a week before the start of the invasion, Russia insisted on denying it.

This campaign of deception was accompanied by a disinformation campaign to ridicule those warning of the imminent invasion, a campaign in which pro-Russian propagandists in the West played an active part, flooding some media outlets with lies. On February 12, with the invasion orders already signed, the Kremlin accused the West of hysteria for warning of what was going to happen. The Kremlin's propaganda outlets launched a wave of lies, speaking of "anti-Russian hysteria", "absurd rumors", "disinformation", and "hysterical publications" - slogans that were propagated by Russian dictatorship outlets such as RT and Sputnik News, and disseminated in the West by pro-Russian activists.

The Kremlin has targeted Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia

Let us also remember that just a few weeks ago the Kremlin made NATO's withdrawal from the Baltic states a condition for ending the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin is obsessed with conquering countries that were once part of the Russian Empire, including Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, and he intends for the Atlantic Alliance to leave them defenseless so that Russia can more easily seize them. Seeing the liar Lavrov denying this is the best reason to take precautions and strengthen the defense of these allied countries.

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Photo: TASS. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin with his Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov.