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As Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine approaches its sixth year, the likelihood of it joining the EU is still being actively debated. Neighbouring Moldova is also driving towards EU membership, even though it is aware that Russia is actively opposed.

It means both countries, and others in the region where people have expressed a desire to join the EU, such as Georgia, find themselves the subject of online campaigns which, critics say, are aimed at undermining those efforts.

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After the war [in Ukraine] began in 2022, the OECD published a policy paper on ‘Disinformation and Russia’s War of Aggression against Ukraine’, in which it said: “The Russian disinformation narratives are often false, or obscure facts with half-truths and ‘whataboutisms’.”

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Disinformation frequently attempts to erode political reputations and steer voters towards particular political agendas.

As with other forms of political disinformation, this takes many forms when it comes to EU accession, according to Vladyslav Lesyk, a journalist at Ukrainian media outlet Rubryka.

“One of the primary Russian narratives regarding Ukraine’s EU accession is the claim that Ukraine’s efforts to join the Union are futile,” he said.

“For instance, Russian sources have spread fakes asserting that granting candidate status is a merely formal decision that offers no actual benefits. The functions of this narrative are to demoralise Ukrainian society and create the impression that the reforms required for EU membership are pointless.

“Another Russian narrative suggests that joining the EU would mean Ukraine losing its sovereignty. This builds upon a broader Russian narrative, maintained since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war in 2014, which portrays Ukraine as a state with an illegitimate government controlled by the West, specifically the EU and the US.”

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Lesyk said narratives spread in European countries lean into the idea of Ukraine becoming a “burden” on EU member states.

“In this context, Ukraine is presented as a poor and corrupt state whose accession would supposedly drain the European budget. A specific sub-narrative focuses on the negative impact of Ukrainian grain on European farming. Russians have been spreading the narrative of ‘harmful’ Ukrainian grain for several years to sow discord.”

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Yet as an analysis from the European Policy Centre points out, Ukraine joining the EU would have very obvious benefits – including opening up the country’s energy potential to the EU, boosting EU food security, and providing ready trade in critical minerals.

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Lesyk said Telegram is the primary hub for disseminating these Russian narratives in Ukraine, as it allows for the use of anonymous channels and is one of the most popular sources of information in the country.

Regarding Moldova, media and fact-checking organisations have tracked a number of lines of attack regarding proposed EU membership, ranging from farms there closing due to Moldovan agricultural products not being in demand, to higher utility bills and same-sex marriage.

These were analysed in depth by the website NewsMaker.md. Romanian fact-checking website Veridica has tracked numerous disinformation campaigns, including that Moldova could become a destination for migrants, could lose its statehood, or even be annexed by Romania.

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In Georgia, another country seemingly at a crossroads when it comes to possible EU membership, websites such as OC Media have tracked what they believe are coordinated Russian information operations in recent years.

Salome Khvedelidze of OC Media said some of this runs on Facebook and other platforms. The International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy detailed material it described as “the dissemination of anti-Western, particularly anti-EU narratives”.

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