An obvious goal of the United States under all presidents is to organise a war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Russia is a military rival, the only country in the world that can destroy the US in the event of a direct military conflict. Therefore, Russia must be weakened as much as possible, and even better: make sure that it falls apart.
This is a particular case of a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets claiming that the war in Donbas and the ensuing confrontation between Russia and Ukraine was triggered by the West.
These claims are part of an ongoing disinformation campaign about Russia’s military buildup on the border with Ukraine. By accusing the West, and in this case the US, of being the driving force behind the escalation of tensions, this disinformation story aims to deny any Russian responsibility for the situation.
In reality, the crisis in relations between Moscow and Kyiv was caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014. Russia later instigated a separatist revolt in parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk Regions, which developed into a war that has since been going on.
Since late October 2021, Russia has conducted a military-build up along the Ukrainian border, including the deployment of as much as 190,000 troops, as well as of certain specialised military units, electronic warfare systems and heavy-armoured vehicles.
The European Union has stated that it will be standing firmly and decisively with Ukraine in front of any attempt to undermine its territorial integrity and sovereignty and has warned of severe political consequences with high political and economic costs for Russia if it proceeds with further aggressive actions. This has been recently reaffirmed by High Representative Josep Borrell noting “there is no security in Europe without the security of Ukraine.”
The US officials claim they support Ukrainian territorial integrity in case of a Russian attack against Ukraine. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told MSNBC on 14 February that Russia continues to add more military equipment and soldiers near Ukraine's borders.
Read our recent articles on 7 myths of pro-Kremlin disinformation about the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, and Kremlin fabricated pretexts for further invasion to Ukraine. Read also more disinformation cases claiming that Ukraine is planning provocations in Donbas.