Member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, Oleksii Pushkov, spread the claim that Ukraine is turning into a burden for the EU due to refugees and ‘problems’ with gas. However, this is not true.

This was reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Their experts remind that Ukrainian refugees are not an economic challenge for Europe; on the contrary, they contribute to the growth of the labor market. Thanks to temporary protection status, they legally work, having signed 1.87 million contracts in EU countries by October 2023. Their expenses in 2022 alone amounted to $20 billion, which positively impacted the economies of the countries hosting them. As for gas supply, the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine's gas transportation system has stopped, but the EU has adapted to the new conditions, including increasing the import of liquefied natural gas from other sources. No issues with energy resource provision have arisen, which confirms the successful diversification of the European energy market.

Such messages are aimed at creating a rift between Ukraine and its Western allies.