European Commission. Ursula Von der Leyen, Savings and Investments Union. European private funds

russian media: «Ursula von der Leyen proposed confiscating the savings of EU citizens. The President of the European Commission announced her intention to use private savings deposited in EU bank accounts to develop local economies. In a meeting with French business leaders, von der Leyen noted that approximately €10 trillion of European private funds remain idle in bank deposits or invested outside the continent. To redirect these funds toward the development of the European economy, Brussels plans to use the European Savings and Investment Union (EUI).»

The claim is a deliberate distortion of Ursula Von der Leyen’s original speech on 27 August 2026, which focused on boosting EU competitiveness (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/speech_26_1765/SPEECH_26_1765_EN.pdf). She referred to an existing proposal to create a so-called “Savings and Investments Union”, which combines previous proposals for Capital Markets Union and Banking Union inside the EU to allow transnational banking investments inside the EU beyond national borders, boosting access to much-needed capital for business and industries.
In the regular banking system, banks use the money deposited by customers in their accounts to borrow it to lenders and to invest in profitable business, thus increasing wealth for both themselves and their clients. The Savings and Investments Union mechanism would merely facilitate these operations throughout EU borders. However, this is very different from seizing these savings, as this disinformation story falsely claims. The goal of this manipulation is to stir up anti-EU feelings among targeted audiences.
Two russian agents have been convicted in Latvia for plotting acts of sabotage against commercial facilities.
The Riga City Court approved a plea agreement between the prosecutor's office and two Latvian citizens who carried out tasks for a russian intelligence agency and prepared acts of sabotage within the country, reports LSM: https://rus.lsm.lv/statja/novosti/obschestvo/20.08.2026-za-sabotaz-v-polzu-rf-latviicev-prigovorili-k-tyuremnym-srokam.a659688/
According to the Latvian State Security Service, in the autumn of 2023, the convicted individuals set fire to a facility belonging to Pilot Automotive Labs Europe, a company that develops autonomous vehicles and collaborates with the defense sector.
In early 2024, they also plotted to set fire to a truck with Ukrainian license plates at a critical infrastructure site. Additionally, the individuals gathered photo and video footage of other potential targets to transmit to their handlers in russia.
One perpetrator was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while his female accomplice — his wife — received an 8.5-year sentence. The court also ordered them, along with other individuals involved in separate proceedings, to pay the company €3,146 in compensation for damages.
Fake: Over 780,000 weapons transferred to Ukraine were lost or stolen and ended up on the EU black market.
russian media outlets reported this, citing Palermo prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia. In reality, russian sources distorted the prosecutor's statement and the original article from the Italian publication *Il Fatto Quotidiano*.
There is no evidence that 780,000 weapons transferred to Ukraine by international partners have reached the EU black market. The *Il Fatto Quotidiano* article discusses the Italian prosecutor's office's concerns regarding the risk of certain types of weaponry appearing on the black market that has emerged due to russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. The prosecutor mentioned the mafia's interest in modern weaponry —specifically drones — but did not claim that these originated from supplies sent to Ukraine or that hundreds of thousands of Western weapons had been stolen.
The figure "780,465" is not supported by any official documents. russian media used it without a proper source to create the impression of a massive leakage of weaponry. Ukraine and its partner nations employ a multi-level system for tracking and controlling international military aid. Ukrainian authorities, supplier nations, and international control mechanisms are all involved in monitoring the use of the weaponry. None of them have confirmed claims regarding "hundreds of thousands" of lost or stolen weapons.
The goal of such reports is to undermine partners' confidence in military aid to Ukraine, discredit the Ukrainian state, and weaken international support.
Based on materials from Stopfake.org, Spravdi.ua
Read more: Manipulation: russia Has Not Touched Europe; Instead, Europe is Sending Weapons Against russia