A “job” offering citizens from the Middle East and North Africa UK or EU citizenship in return for fighting in Ukraine has been linked to a Kremlin “disinformation” campaign.
The European Commission told The Epoch Times that the fake advertisement—posted on an international employment website—bears the hallmarks of Russia’s “twisted narrative.”
It stated that “conditions” for the post include a “high contract payment” with “guaranteed“ and “accelerated citizenship in the UK or EU.”
Only men from North Africa and the Middle East are eligible to apply for the permanent posts, it said.
The ad—which originally included a contact email address that appeared to be linked to the EU Citizenship Programme—also stated that the company offering the job for a visa deal was based in the UK.
The recruitment campaign has caused a stir on social media with some attacking Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Home Office and other EU officials over the “cannon fodder” ad.
‘Twisted Narrative’
In a statement to The Epoch Times via email on May 25, a European Commission spokesperson confirmed that the advertisement was “not an EU sponsored or originated campaign.”It said it is “most likely an attempt to mislead people since it is bearing hallmarks of a disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting Ukraine and the European Union.”
The spokesperson added: “This issue did not come up yet on our radar in terms of analysing disinformation campaigns, so we cannot confirm yet the possible disinfo or information manipulation angle and origins, but some analysis was already done.
The spokesperson added that this was carried out “with the aim to divert the attention from the fact that Russia launched and continues an illegal military aggression against Ukraine.”
“EU citizenship is thus additional to the nationality of EU member states and is granted by EU member states when they confer their nationality,” the spokesperson added.
“It is the competence of the member states to determine the criteria for the acquisition and loss of their nationality, subject to due regard to EU law.”
The European Commission added that third countries cannot grant EU citizenship and that neither can private entities, such as companies.
The Russian Embassy in the UK didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
Speaking to The Epoch Times on May 24, a Home Office spokesperson confirmed it was aware of the false advertisement, describing it as a “scam.”
Russia has previously been accused by the EU of using disinformation as an operational tool in its war on Ukraine.
Josep Borrell, high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said Russia’s disinformation campaigns posed a “significant and direct threat” to the Union’s public order and security.
