According to pro-Russian propaganda, the European economy is collapsing as a result of Russia's decision to close its airspace to commercial flights from countries supporting Ukraine.
NEWS: While European leaders are waiting for Russia to collapse, news from Moscow has shaken Europe. Since the announcement was made public, Russian airspace has been closed to the European countries that are helping Ukraine. This means that no civilian aircraft from these countries can fly over Russia.
Panic quickly spread throughout Europe. Lufthansa, British Airways, and Air France canceled dozens of flights in a matter of seconds, planes that were already in the air were turned back, detours meant flights were extended by 5, 6, or 9 hours, and fuel consumption doubled. Ticket prices also rose by 200%, and airports in Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, and Rome lost important routes to Asia and Australia, while Chinese companies were able to fly unhindered in the Russian airspace, with great financial advantages. They will thus win all routes to Asia and Oceania from Europe because they will offer the lowest prices and the shortest flight times.
Insurance companies are also raising their prices, large European corporations that were waiting for spare parts deliveries from Asia have to stop their production lines, and all of them will have to give up European cargo ships and sign new contracts with Chinese companies.
Suddenly, Europe, which still believes itself to be the center of the world, has found itself on the sidelines. And no clever leader in Europe expected this possible blow from Russia. Russia knows how to strike hard where it hurts the most, without even using a bullet. And suddenly, with one strategic move, it destroyed Europe's airports and European airlines, hit European industry, and shook up politicians, whom their people can now ask: Hey, guys, why didn't you think about this possibility?
NARRATIVE: The European economy was devastated after Russia closed its airspace to commercial flights from countries that are supporting Ukraine.
PURPOSE: To promote anti-European and anti-Ukrainian rhetoric and, by extension, pro-Russian rhetoric, to provoke and amplify social tensions, and to validate their own conspiracy theories.
Russian airspace has been closed to Europeans since February 2022.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: Russia did indeed close its airspace to airlines from some European countries, but it did so on February 26, 2022, not now, as the author of the post suggests, who either is receiving certain information with a significant delay or is attempting to manipulate. The ban was imposed by Russia almost four years ago in response to similar decisions taken by Western countries, which wanted to sanction Moscow for its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. As it was the West that initiated the sanctions, it is clear that there was no panic in Europe, with the authorities expecting a mirror response from Russia. Airlines adapted quickly, having already drawn up alternative plans.
Furthermore, the alarmist claim that "dozens of flights were canceled in a second, and planes turned back" is a huge exaggeration, although it is true that in the first days of 2022 some flights were rerouted. Similarly, the claim that "detour routes extend flights by 5, 6, or 9 hours" is not true, with most new routes extending the journey by an average of 1-2 hours, and in exceptional cases by a maximum of 4 hours. The text analyzed artificially amplifies the impact of the measure when it claims that "fuel consumption doubles." Such an increase would make flights economically impossible, which has not happened. In reality, fuel consumption has increased by 10 to a maximum of 30 percent. Nor have "ticket prices increased by 200%." Price increases ranged from 20 to 50 percent, but this already happened in 2022. The airports in Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, and Rome did not "lose routes to Asia and Australia," but continue to operate Asian routes, and Australia was served by intermediate hubs anyway. As a result, Chinese companies did indeed gain a route advantage, but they did not "win all routes" or eliminate European companies.
Grossly distorting reality, the post also claims that "European industry is grinding to a halt," which is obviously a blatant lie. European supply chains have adapted and diversified, and Europe has not been "strategically destroyed, without even using a bullet." The European continent has not lost its airports, destroyed its aviation industry, and, above all, has not stopped supporting Ukraine. Two days after this disinformation was published, the European Union announced that it would lend Ukraine 90 billion Euro, interest-free, over the next two years, and NATO announced the opening of a second transit hub for military aid to Ukraine , in Romania. Thus, the statement "Russia defeats NATO and Europe on all fronts" is nothing more than wild propaganda from the Kremlin. In fact, since the invasion of Ukraine began, NATO has expanded with the accession of Finland and Sweden, while also increasing its budgets, and the Russian economy, although functioning and recording minor growth, is under severe constraints and is by no means in a position of "total victory."
Therefore, the text analyzed takes several real facts out of context (the closure of Russian airspace in 2022, the advantage of Asian routes, etc.), exaggerates them through fake information and propaganda interpretations, and ultimately reaches radical political conclusions that have nothing to do with reality.
How to praise Russia from Western freedom
CONTEXT: Despite declared growth and claims of stability in wartime, Russia's economy is undergoing a major crisis, and for this reason, Moscow's propaganda is striving to present not only its own "achievements" but, above all, the failure of European policies, on the one hand to highlight the alleged incompetence and ill will of European leaders and, on the other, to create panic and weaken the population's confidence in them.
The data analyzed today is taken from a video posted on the German YouTube channel Deutschland Wahrheiten – Truths from Germany, which constantly publishes propaganda clips designed for emotional impact and not based on factual reports. The channel presents itself as a provider of "unfiltered, critical, and honest political information" that aims to "show what is really happening" or "what is hidden behind the scenes." In reality, however, the headlines and general topics covered only refer to imminent crises in NATO or the European Union, closely linked to Russia's successes. Most likely, the channel is part of an alternative German media ecosystem that exploits international events to create the impression of an imminent crisis in Germany and Europe, which it tries to draw attention to with highly emotional messages.
Calin Kasper, who translated the German channel's message into Romanian, is, according to his own description, an automotive engineer, journalist, and writer who emigrated to Germany in 1993. In his texts, Kasper combines elements of identity nationalism with a deeply critical discourse on the West, the European Union, and what he generically calls "globalism." Like any propagandist, he constantly talks about the evil Western elites who oppress the general population. In this narrative, he frequently presents Europe as a fallen space, lacking strategic vision and led by incompetent leaders, while Russia is presented as a lucid, calculated actor capable of striking decisively without resorting to direct military force.
A recurring feature of Kasper's writing is the treatment of old events as breaking news. Measures or decisions taken years ago are brought to the fore as "news" that would have shaken Europe, and their effects are amplified to catastrophic proportions. For this reason, the reader is often led to conclude that the West is on the verge of collapse, while Russia stands to gain on all fronts. Kasper's posts usually lack precise data, verifiable sources, and comparisons that would allow for a realistic assessment of the actual impact of these developments. With regard to Ukraine, he largely echoes the Russian narrative in which the Ukrainian state is presented as a victim manipulated by external forces, and events such as the Maidan are reduced exclusively to a plot orchestrated from outside, without acknowledging the internal causes or the will of Ukrainian society itself.
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