New Russian disinformation campaign. And this time with the official account of the Russian Embassy in Spain, from where it is insinuated that the Ministry of Defense has sent Spanish troops to the war in Ukraine. In a tweet published this Wednesday at noon, a video is collected in which four combatants appear – without any insignia of the Spanish Army on their uniforms – speaking in Spanish from a supposed Ukrainian trench, accompanied by statements by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, in which he assured that “Spain is not going to participate in the war in Ukraine.”
It is well known that a group of former Spanish soldiers decided to leave everything in Spain to join Volodimir Zelensky’s army as volunteers when the war in Ukraine broke out. The first to speak on camera, who calls himself Willy, has appeared in several interviews in the media, explaining his reasons for becoming a volunteer combatant. Through his social networks, they have reported over the last year about his experience in the trenches.
Now, the Russian Embassy has used a video in which the mercenaries send various greetings to the camera to attack the Ministry of Defense – and in particular its head – to slip the alleged presence of Spanish troops on Ukrainian soil. They have done so by recovering a response given by Margarita Robles during an interview given to La Vanguardia on the occasion of the anniversary of the Russian invasion, last February.
This newspaper asked him about the controversy within the Government caused by some statements by the wing of United We Can in which they warned of a possible shipment of troops to Ukraine if the war escalation was not stopped. “Do you consider that scenario feasible”, he was asked. Given this, the minister was blunt: “It is an absolutely impossible scenario; non-existent. Spanish soldiers would only intervene if there was an aggression against a NATO country. Never, ever, will any troops from a NATO country, and Spain is one of them, go to participate in the war in Ukraine. Never never. I want to say it very clearly, very clearly.â€
They would only intervene, as the head of Defense assured, if any NATO member is attacked and asks for help, invoking Article 5 of the founding treaty of the Atlantic Alliance. An event that has not occurred.
The 2002 National Security annual report states that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the disinformation campaigns originating from the Kremlin orbit in Spain and Europe in general, thus highlighting “even more the need†to develop national, European and international mechanisms “to prevent, limit and counteract its effectsâ€.
