This Policy Brief is the first of a two-part feature that examines Russia’s ability to influence French, German and EU narratives on the Minsk II agreement and Ukraine’s evolving position in the international system. This first Policy Brief will focus on the competing Russian and Ukrainian narratives surrounding Minsk II. Thus, it will examine Russia’s efforts to portray Ukraine as a ‘failed state’ and a ‘semi-sovereign’ subject, and to blame the West for provoking a ‘civil war’ in the country. It also outlines Ukraine’s counter-narratives that emphasises its sovereignty and the inter-state nature of its war with Russia
