US Urged To Counter Russia's 'Weaponisation Of Information' Amid Ukraine Conflict

Russia will not succeed in breaking the unity of the European Union while the Ukraine conflict is ongoing. This is the declaration of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier last week when he said Russia’s offer of removing trade embargoes against EU member states.

The German official said in Lithuania that attempts to break up the EU were made in the past but turned out to be unsuccessful. “Our decision was taken, so I think the attempt to split Europe will fail,” said Steinmeier. When Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited Moscow recently, it caused “unease” among the EU member states. The prime minister was warned not to be influenced and break ranks over economic sanctions against Russia, reports Reuters.

Russia's Weaponisation of Information

The German minister said he and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius had discussed ways on how to address “disinformation campaigns” involving the Ukrainian crisis. He said one solution was to help train Lithuanian journalists in Germany.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is being urged to counter “Russia’s weaponisation of information” in a committee hearing on the matter. The House Foreign Affairs Committee called on the U.S. government to invest in media warfare across the globe, reports RT News.

Ed Royce, the committee chairman, said Russia’s propaganda machine is in “overdrive” to undermine democratic stability and promote violence in Eastern Europe. The witnesses for the committee hearing include critics of Russia, Peter Pomerantsev, Helle Dale and Liz Wahl, who is a former RT journalist.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher criticised the choice of witnesses and wish for another person to balance out this in a way that would allow the U.S. to compare its system to the Russians. He cautioned against bringing back the Cold War mentality and insisted on not taking a “belligerent stance.”

However, Peter Pomerantsev from London-based Legatum Institute, had disagreed. “Russia has launched an information war against the West – and we are losing,” said Pomerantsev to the committee.

NATO Missile Defence Shield Stirs Tension

The tension between Russia and the U.S. remains as a top general warned that Russian forces would be forced to target European countries considering installations for a U.S.-led missile defence shield, reports WSJ. Referring to Poland and Romania, Gen. Valery Gerasimov, said non-nuclear powers with missile defence installations have become targets of priority response. However, NATO has reiterated that NATO’s plans of building a missile defence shield in Europe seek to deter a possible attack from Iran rather than Russia.

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