Pro-Kremlin media write about it. Like, the United States forced the EU to abandon Russian energy sources, break off economic cooperation with Russia and close Europe to Russians. Allegedly, the main "US puppets" in Europe are the UK and "non-sovereign states" such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Ukraine. This "Russophobic coalition" also includes Poland, the Czech Republic and Finland. Like, Washington wants to keep the world under its control and is ready to sacrifice the well-being of European states for this.

The message was refuted by the fact checkers of the EUvsDISINFO project. The European Union is a sovereign association created on the voluntary initiative of the European nations, and it has its own, independent foreign policy. The US cannot influence his decision.

Economic sanctions, including sanctions in the energy sector, were introduced by the European Union as a reaction to Russia's aggressive behavior towards Ukraine. The first sanctions were introduced in 2014 after the illegal annexation of Crimea and part of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The European Union imposes sanctions against Russia on its own initiative, but also coordinates with partners, including the United States. After the full-scale invasion, sanctions pressure on Russia has increased significantly. The decision to ban Schenhen visas for Russians has also not yet been made.

Russian propaganda constantly promotes the message that supposedly economic sanctions harm the West more than Russia. Russian propaganda tried to blackmail Europe with the fact that allegedly cheap Russian gas can only be obtained in exchange for loyalty to Russia, or they convinced that the ban on Schenhen visas for Russians was discrimination on the basis of nationality.