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DISINFO: EU HRVP Borrell wants to isolate Russia as the West fails to recognise sanctions' failure

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

AI translations:

Tags:

Sanctions Full-scale Invasion of Ukraine War against Ukraine Economic difficulties

DISINFO: EU HRVP Borrell wants to isolate Russia as the West fails to recognise sanctions' failure

SUMMARY

Head of European Diplomacy Josep Borrell said that the European Union expects its international partners, including Georgia, to make efforts to "isolate Russia" against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine.

Moscow indicated that the West lacks the courage to admit the failure of sanctions. In Western countries themselves, a number of opinions have emerged stating that sanctions against Russia are ineffective.

RESPONSE

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative portraying sanctions on Russia as useless.

Measuring the impact of Western sanctions on Russia’s economy is not an exact science. According to experts, by the first quarter of 2023, Russia’s real GDP was 7-10% below what it would have been had sanctions not been applied. This calculation compared forecasts of Russia’s GDP growth before and after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Following Russia's unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of Ukraine, inflation rates in Russia soared to 20%. Inflation only went down to about 3.5% after the base effect of last year's inflation took hold.

In addition, the IEA states that Russia's earnings from oil and gas exports fell to £6.5bn ($8.1bn) a month in April 2023, from £18.2bn ($22.5bn) because of Western sanctions.

A study from Yale University takes a detailed look into the effects sanctions are having on the Russian economy, concluding that "business retreats and sanctions are catastrophically crippling the Russian economy."

By imposing sanctions on Russia, the EU aims to send a strong signal of resolve and unity to the Kremlin, degrade Russia’s ability to wage war, and slowly asphyxiate the Russian economy, in particular the country’s energy sector. When judged on the basis of these criteria, sanctions are clearly working.

Read an earlier detailed analysis of the Russian disinformation narratives about EU sanctions.

Read also related stories: Western sanctions are not working, Europe suffered more from sanctions than Russia, HRVP Borrell: Russia and China are bankrupting Europe, ICC arrest warrant against Putin was issued because western sanctions don't work, EU’s economy is crumbling as a result of anti-Russian sanctions.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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