Disinfo: Accusing Russia of the Vrbetice explosion attempts to abort its rapprochement with Europe

Summary

Every time that there is a rapprochement between Russia and any EU country affecting energy supplies, there are setups like the alleged Russian involvement in the Vrbetice explosion. The West does precisely what they accuse Russia of doing, hybrid warfare. When the Nord Stream 2 was close to being approved we saw the case of the alleged poisoning of Alexei Navalny, and now, when Russia is helping Czechia in the nuclear field, we see a supposed intervention of Russian agents to blow up a munitions dump as in a James Bond movie.

All this only serves to maintain Europe under the US geopolitical aegis, along with UK and Poland, which is their lapdog. Europe is at a crossroad: for the first time, its first trade partner is not the US but China, and Russia will have to be a first-class trade partner as well. So in face of this change, there is resistance from those who, until now, rather than partners, have been the masters and owners of Western Europe.

Disproof

This is part of a disinformation campaign about the events surrounding the Vrbetice explosion in 2014, which killed two people and led to the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic in April 2021.

Contrary to the claim, accusations of Russia’s involvement in the Vrbetice explosion in 2014 are backed by conclusive evidence. The investigation by Czech authorities established beyond doubt that GRU [Russia’s military intelligence] agents Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin, the same individuals considered responsible for the attempted murder of Sergey Skripal in Salisbury in 2018, were behind the Vrbetice explosion (see here for further details). In the same fashion, the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny wasn’t a plot against Nord Stream 2 but a Russian intelligence operation, as has been proven by international investigators (see here our previous debunk).

By attributing these accusations to dark motives - in this case, to maintain a supposed US domination over Europe (a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative) - this disinformation message aims to deflect any Russian responsibility in the incident and portray Russia as innocent of any misdeed.

See other examples in our database, such as claims that the Czech military warehouse explosion was a US provocation, that the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Czechia is a smokescreen designed by the US, that allegations against Russia are a pretext to target Rosatom, an attempt to influence the upcoming German elections or preparation for an informational Cold War, or that Czechia is ruled by American and British intelligence agencies.

This disinformation message appeared in the same TV programme as the claims that “The ‘highly likely’ argument is used again to spread lies about Russia”, that “Western mainstream media are totally biased, only Russian and Venezuelan outlets tell the truth”, and that “The West wanted the ‘Vietnamisation’ of Ukraine’s conflict but Russia didn’t fall in the trap”.

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actualidad.rt.com (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 244
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 28/04/2021
  • Article language(s) Spanish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Czech Republic, EU, Russia, US
  • Keywords: Vrbetice explosion, Nord Stream 2, Russophobia, US presence in Europe
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