Denmark Accuses Russia of Hybrid Aggression Against the EU Linked to the Migration Crisis in Ceuta

Denmark accuses Russia of hybrid aggression against the EU through the spread of fake news about the migration crisis in Ceuta.

The Danish media outlet DR reported on this.

According to data from the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration, presented at an emergency meeting of EU ministers on the migration crisis in Spain, 2,000 fake articles and more than 6,000 fake social media posts originated from Russian actors and concern the situation in Ceuta and Morocco.

Minister of Immigration and Integration Morten Bødskov links the migration crisis in Ceuta to Russia’s hybrid warfare and characterizes it as an attempt to destabilize Europe.

According to military analyst Jeanette Serritslev of the Department of Military Operations at the Royal Danish Defense College, it would not be surprising if Russia were to exploit the situation to promote a certain narrative.

“Not least because this is a situation that directly illustrates what the Russian side is striving for: discord and division within the EU. Immigration is a hot-button issue here,” the expert notes.

Yevgeniy Golovchenko, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, notes that Russia’s political and military elite views information warfare as part of the global rules of the game, in which Russia perceives itself as under attack and therefore feels the need to play by those rules.

“Russia rarely presents entirely new stories or narratives, but often focuses on adapting, disseminating, and amplifying narratives that already have the potential to resonate with the target audience,” Yevgeniy says.

Both experts emphasize that migration is often used as a manipulative topic to generate public attention. In particular, the main goal is to portray Europe as divided and decadent—in contrast to a strong and stable Russia.

In a written response, the Russian Embassy in Denmark rejected Bødskov’s accusations and stated that no verified evidence of illegal activity on the part of the Russian Federation had been presented.

Russia employs a wide range of hybrid threats, using migration as a tool for destabilization. Due to this threat, Latvia closed its last border crossing with Belarus on August 2.

Illegal migrants are being smuggled across the Belarusian border; specifically, on August 5, an underground tunnel through which migrants were crossing the border was discovered in Lithuania.