FAKE: “Russia is not Europe’s enemy” — Putin’s address on Croatian TV channel

 Social media users are spreading information claiming that Putin addressed Europeans in a broadcast on Croatian Channel 4. In it, he assured that Russia does not pose a threat to Europe: “What has Russia done to you, that you hate it so much?
Russia is not your enemy. Your real enemies are your leaders, those who lead you.“

However, this is fake. Putin did not deliver such a speech, and he was not invited to any Croatian channel.

Most likely, by “Channel 4” the post refers to the Croatian television channel HRT 4. However, there is no recorded interview or appearance of Putin on its website, and this channel has never invited him to its broadcast. It only covers news about the Russian-Ukrainian war, just like any other news outlet.

There are no mentions of this speech in any reliable media, although it would certainly have 

sparked a reaction among Europeans and likely a response from EU leaders. However, this claim is only being spread by social media users.

Additionally, this speech was not published on the Kremlin’s website. Typically, when Putin wants to convey a message to a wide audience, his address is pre-recorded and then centrally broadcast through Kremlin-controlled propaganda resources, from where it is further disseminated.

The theses allegedly voiced in the speech are a set of fakes and manipulations that are hard to take seriously. The phrase that “Russia has never been and will never be Europe’s enemy” is debunked by the fact that the Russian Federation is already waging a hybrid war against European countries, resorting to cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, election interference, and political assassinations on their territory. The claim of no territorial ambitions because Russia supposedly has plenty of resources directly contradicts its occupation of parts of Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.

The reference to “20 million USSR victims to rid the world of Nazis” is a manipulation that Russia uses to monopolize the victory. First, part of those losses were civilians, including those killed due to crimes committed by the Soviet regime itself. Second, that figure includes victims from all nations of the USSR, not just Russians, while the Kremlin systematically downplays the contributions of other nationalities to the victory. During World War II, 8 to 10 million Ukrainians died. There are even more pessimistic estimates suggesting that the population of the Ukrainian SSR decreased by approximately 13.5 to 14.3 million people from June 1941 to January 1945. Third, this narrative ignores the prior collaboration between the USSR and Nazi Germany (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact), which essentially gave Hitler the green light to start the war in Europe.

Moreover, it is unclear why the post cites the figure of 20 million victims — this is outdated Soviet-era data. According to 1990s statistics, the total losses of the USSR in World War II were 26.6 million people. These are the figures Russian officials have long referred to. In particular, Putin, during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping ahead of this year’s parade, stated that 27 million had died.

The claim about Russia helping Europe during COVID-19 is also a distortion of facts. While some aid did occur, it often had a demonstrative and propagandistic nature, and its effectiveness was called into question.

A vivid example is the so-called “aid” to Italy in spring 2020. At that time, Russia sent a column of military equipment, which made a showy 600-kilometer march to the province of Bergamo, one of the epicenters of the pandemic. However, as it turned out, the main task of the Russian “specialists” was disinfecting local nursing homes, not directly helping the sick. Moreover, the Italian publication La Stampa, citing sources in Italy’s General Staff, reported that about 80% of the materials sent by Russia were “absolutely useless or of little use”. Concern was also raised by the fact that the humanitarian mission was carried out mainly by Russian military personnel, not civilian medics, which gave grounds to suspect that the entire operation was a cover for intelligence agents.

And finally, the attempt to convince Europeans that their “real enemies are their leaders” is a classic propaganda tactic. Its goal is to sow distrust in democratically elected governments, create internal division within European societies, and divert attention from Russia’s own destructive actions.

Previously, we debunked a fake poll allegedly showing that 71% of French citizens would like Putin to be their president.