Greece pledged military assistance to Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression. The country’s defense minister has stated that Greece ‘will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.’
Russian media wrote that Greece has allegedly held mass rallies against Ukraine being supplied with weapons by the allied states. Pro-Kremlin media reported that on May 7, protests against the war in Ukraine took place in Athens. The war, as protesters have allegedly claimed, was ‘started by a coalition led by the US, i.e. NATO, the European Union and their allies, who are actually fighting against the rest of the world to colonize it.’
‘Greece regularly calls to end the war in Ukraine and condemns the West supplying weapons to Ukraine… NATO providing weapons to Ukrainian forces is a crime against peace which deliberately escalates a conflict with potential of turning it into the third world war,’ Russian media write.
On May 7 in Athens, there was indeed a pro-Russian rally attended by several dozen people, who chanted pro-Kremlin slogans and spread anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western narratives of Russian propaganda. This event does not reflect the official opinion of the Greek government as this anti-Western rally was organized by the Russian forces. These include the Immortal Regiment movement, directly affiliated with the Kremlin, as well as communists and left-wing parties that have no political weight in their own country. For example, Ergatiko Epanastatiko Komma (EEK) has never won a parliamentary election and is only supported by 0.04% of voters.
Aside from that, Russian media portrays Dimitrios Patelis as a Greek university professor, whose statements are supposed to represent the Greek government’s official opinion. In reality, Patelis is a Russian propagandist who is spreading Kremlin narratives in Greece. Patelis studied and taught at Moscow State University and is Vladimir Putin’s personal translator.
That is why Russian claims about Greece’s numerous rallies against supplying weapons to Ukraine should not be trusted. The protest in Athens was set up by Russian propaganda agents.
In addition, the Greek government condemned Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, supported sanctions against Russia and supplied weapons to the Ukrainian military. Previously, Greece had already delivered weapons to Ukraine, including ammunition, small arms and BMP-1 armored vehicles. Greece also helps to train Ukrainian special forces and tankers and accepts wounded Ukrainian soldiers for treatment. On April 6, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panaiotopoulos emphasized that Greece, while taking into account its own defense needs, ‘will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.’
