Spain said Friday that it summoned the Russian ambassador over a video shared on its social media accounts that falsely portrayed Spanish troops fighting in Ukraine.

The video posted Wednesday -- which has since been removed -- showed what the embassy said were Spanish soldiers on the battlefield in Ukraine, according to Spanish media reports.

The images were contrasted with a clip of Spain's Defence Minister Margarita Robles saying Spanish troops would never fight in Ukraine.

Spain's foreign ministry demanded the "immediate" removal of the video and summoned Russia's ambassador to Spain "to protest the attacks on social media against the government," a ministry spokesman told AFP.

The foreign ministry expressed "its strong rejection of this type of publication" during its meeting with the ambassador, which took place on Thursday, the spokesman added.

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Asked about the video during a Madrid press conference with her visiting counterparts from France and Germany, Robles reiterated there are no Spanish troops in Ukraine.

"There are absolutely no NATO troop, no Spanish soldiers belonging to Spain's armed forces, or the armed forces of any NATO country, in Ukraine. None," she said.

"We all know that a country like Russia, which is massacring citizens in Ukraine right now, uses all kinds of methods, including misinformation to undermine the friendship of the nations that are part of the European Union and NATO."

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Emotional Weaponization: Russia’s Current Propaganda Narratives

The Kremlin strictly follows Nazi Josef Goebbels’ edict that propaganda should appeal to emotions and instincts rather than intellect. Truth is unimportant and subordinate to tactics and psychology.

Spain, a NATO member which will assume the rotating presidency of the EU in July, is a staunch ally of Ukraine.

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