The Russian media spread the news: that Europe will force Ukraine to cede territories and satisfy the Kremlin's demands for further cooperation in Europe and the preservation of peace. They refer to an article by the Italian diplomat, ex-deputy of Josep Borrell, Natalie Tocci, which was published in Foreign Policy.

But this is a manipulation that StopFake drew attention to. Tocci did write an article about whether Putin will be able to split the unity of the EU by taking advantage of the forced lull in Donbas. And will he be able to win some of the country's governments over to his side by blackmailing them with gas and pretending to agree to cease hostilities for the sake of European voters? Tocci insists that Putin could consider such a scenario and there are risks of a split in the EU's position on supporting Ukraine, so he strongly insists that any talks with Putin will only increase the number of casualties and prolong the war, not end it.

The Russian media took Tocci's phrase out of context, where it describes Putin's desired scenario - and is now spreading it as evidence of a change in the EU's position on the war in Ukraine. This is a common message that is constantly promoted by Russian propaganda at the beginning of the war: the EU will soon tire of the war in Ukraine, it is weak, not united, and the Europeans do not like paying a high price for energy sources - that is why they will "hand over" Ukraine to the aggressor. In fact, to date, the EU's position on supporting Ukraine remains unchanged.