ISW: The Kremlin justifies the war to militarize the population and prepares for a prolonged confrontation with NATO
Kyiv • UNN
The Kremlin justifies the invasion of Ukraine with rhetoric of fighting "Nazism". This is aimed at militarizing society and preparing for a possible prolonged conflict with NATO.
The Kremlin continues to justify the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine with the aim of further militarizing Russian society, likely preparing for a potential future protracted conflict with NATO. This opinion is held by analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), UNN reports.
Details
They indicate that pro-Kremlin journalist Pavlo Zarubin recently asked Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the EU's recommendation to European leaders to refrain from participating in the "Victory Parade" on May 9 in Moscow.
Lavrov accused the EU of inciting "neo-Nazi ideology" in Europe and stated that Russia "will make every effort to prevent this ideology from raising its head" and will destroy Nazism "once and for all"
They believe that Lavrov's statements are part of long-standing Kremlin attempts to invoke the Soviet Union's contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany and to denigrate Europe and NATO.
These efforts are aimed at exacerbating negative sentiments among the Russian population and... the militarization of Russian society in the long term. ... Previously, the Kremlin appealed to myths about the "Great Patriotic War" to convince the Russian population that their increasing social and economic sacrifices for Russia's military efforts in Ukraine could help achieve victory
Analysts also indicate that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and other senior Kremlin officials regularly invoke the vague term "denazification" to call for regime change in Ukraine and the establishment of a pro-Russian interim government. In doing so, Putin used the claim that Nazis allegedly control the Ukrainian government to justify the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"The Kremlin is increasingly using the same pattern it used against Ukraine against Finland and former Soviet states, including Estonia and Moldova, to justify its attempts to control independent countries and establish information conditions for potential future Russian aggression," ISW summarizes.
Recall
As of 00:00 after Easter, the Russian army violated the ceasefire promise given by the Russian Federation itself 2935 times. This was reported by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, citing the report of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky. According to him, "the nature of Ukrainian actions will continue to be mirrored."
