“Ukraine Fatigue in the West”: Russian Propaganda Constructing a Narrative

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Russian propaganda actively spreads narratives aimed at disuniting and weakening Western support for Ukraine. Among them is a narrative about the West, which is tired of Ukraine and has lost interest in helping it. It is aimed at both the political landscape and the public consciousness, raising doubts about the need for support and assistance to Ukraine. We will cover the messages that are most often spread to enhance this narrative. 

“Europe has grown cold towards Ukraine.” This message tries to show that Western countries are allegedly losing interest in Ukraine and are unwilling to continue supporting it. Its dissemination is aimed at reducing international support and estrangement of Ukraine from its Western partners.

“Europe is tired of Ukraine.” This is another variation of the narrative of Russian propaganda, which convinces that supporting Ukraine is a burdensome matter. Its purpose is to encourage a decrease in support and attraction of new resources to repel aggression.

“No one is interested in Ukraine anymore.” The message is that Ukraine has lost its strategic importance for Western countries and for the international community as a whole. It aims to marginalize Ukraine and reduce attention to its problems and needs.

All these messages construct a holistic narrative of Russian propaganda about the alleged “Ukraine fatigue in the West” to influence public opinion and change the attitude towards the war of Russia against Ukraine. However, the main purpose of such messages is to persuade the Western countries and the international community as a whole to reduce support for Ukraine. Such activities of Russia, unfortunately, yield results, which can be seen in elections when foreigners vote for pro-Russian forces.

For example, the recent elections in Slovakia. Eduard Heger, the country’s former prime minister in 2021-2023, believes that the results of the voting are a consequence of the influence of Putin’s propaganda. Russia also uses countries’ information vulnerabilities to destabilize them in order to distract them from supporting Ukraine.

So, as we can see, Russian propaganda is intensively trying to stop support for Ukraine. The narrative “Ukraine fatigue in the West” forms a complex network of messages that raise doubts about the need for and effectiveness of support for Ukraine. These narratives try to divert attention from the needs of Ukraine’s defence against aggression.