Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen drew attention to the dangerous influence of Russian disinformation actively spread by Kremlin propaganda. He said that the Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin not only caused a war in Ukraine, but is also actively trying to destabilize Western societies due to the spread of misinformation.

Bellen said this in a speech at a New Year's reception for the diplomatic corps in Vienna. According to him, Russian propaganda is aimed not only at internal administration in Russia, but also to undermine trust and unity in Europe and the USA.

" President Putin brought it to us, and no one knows when he will release his victim - Ukraine. Moreover, in his country, he incites hatred to the West, and inside our countries he tries to destabilize our democratic, liberal societies with the help of misinformation, ”Van der Bellen emphasized.

Austria President admitted that Western countries are not ready for such threats. He stressed that at the moment they do not have enough tools to effectively counter the lies and distortions that are spread through social networks and other platforms.

"

In his opinion, for a successful struggle with this problem, it is necessary to strengthen international cooperation and jointly withstand the challenges. " We need partnerships, multilateralism - EU, UN - and we need diplomacy. Because together we are stronger,” he noted..

In particular, Bellen emphasized the importance of Austria's active participation in European and international politics, saying that Austria will remain a stable partner in the EU and submit an application for a non-permanent place in the UN Security Council for the period 2027-2028.

Recall that the Kremlin began an information operation aimed at creating an erroneous impression that the Russian economy works well. This occurs against the backdrop of long-term numerous indicators of macroeconomic distress in the aggressor country.