Disinfo: Belarusian opposition tried to disrupt the Victory Day military parade with the help of US money

Summary

The Belarusian opposition tried hard to disrupt the Victory Day military parade but did not succeed. Opposition members strongly dissuaded people from attending the parade and even offered real green dollars from Uncle Sam and the US State Department’s money for this. As soon as the Victory Day parades stop in the post-Soviet space, Americans will buy the victory from our ancestors. The Belarusian opposition easily trades the historical victory with the West.

Disproof

These are unfounded claims intended to discredit the US / West and the Belarusian opposition through baseless accusations of bad intentions towards the Victory Day military parade. This story is consistent with pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the West's continuous attempts to undermine Belarusian society through a subservient Belarusian opposition and Western-funded NGOs. There is no proof that the US paid the Belarusian opposition to disrupt the parade or that the opposition paid people not to attend the public event. In late March 2020, an online petition was created asking Belarus' Ministries of Health and Defence to cancel the Victory Day military parade to mitigate the coronavirus epidemic and to finance hospitals instead. Over 7,000 citizens signed the petition by March 31. The Ministry of Defence's response read that the epidemiological situation allowed for the parade to go ahead. The WHO recommended that the Belarusian authorities cancel the parade and expressed concern about its organisation amid the epidemic. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that the coronavirus epidemic prevented a NATO deadly attack against Belarus, that Belarusian opposition, civic activists and independent journalists make kill lists for Western security bodies, that the West finances the Belarusian opposition and NGOs to disrupt Belarus-Russia relations, and that it promotes propaganda of feminine men in Belarus.

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Podneprovie (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 198
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 11/05/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US, Belarus
  • Keywords: WWII, Conspiracy theory
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Disinfo: US Congress transcripts will prove Russia did not meddle in 2016 election

The newly released House Intelligence Committee transcripts will help establish that there was no Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections whatsoever. According to the transcripts, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper “never saw any direct empirical evidence that the Trump campaign or someone in it was plotting [or] conspiring with the Russians to meddle with the election”. Nevertheless, in April 2019, Clapper still insisted that there may have been some “passive collusion” between Trump and Russia, despite Special Counsel Robert Mueller finding nothing of the kind.

May 10, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative denying Moscow's interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Like multiple earlier stories made by pro-Kremlin outlets regarding the 2016 US election, the present report muddles the crucial distinction between: a) interference, b) collusion, and c) conspiracy. Russia's interference in the 2016 US presidential election is a well-documented fact. By the time the Mueller report was published, Russian meddling in the 2016 poll had been established by the US intelligence community. The Mueller report itself concluded that Moscow had carried out this effort "in sweeping and systematic fashion" (p. 1). On the other hand, collusionis "not a specific offense or theory of liability found in the United States Code, nor is it a term of art in [US] federal criminal law," (p. 2) and therefore gathering evidence of it fell outside the scope of the Special Counsel investigation. The aim of the probe was not merely to ascertain contacts between the Trump Campaign and Russia-linked individuals during the election period, but to establish whether these interactions were deliberate enough on the part of Trump Campaign officials to sustain charges of conspiracy(ibid). Clapper's testimony, therefore, is in line with the findings of the Special Counsel investigation and does nothing to suggest that Russia did not interfere in the election.

Disinfo: Despite government bans, Ukrainians secretly celebrate Victory Day

The Ukrainian people still celebrate Victory Day, despite the prohibitions of the authorities and those who want to destroy the memory of the feat of the soldiers and liberators. Despite the provocations, prohibitions and even overt attacks on the participants in the celebrations, people still celebrate May 9th. Despite all the repressions, crowds of people took to the streets of Ukraine.

May 10, 2020
Disproof

There are no “prohibitions” regarding WWII Victory Day in Ukraine. In the framework of the law on decommunisation, Ukraine celebrates “Victory Day over Nazism in WWII” on May 9. This holiday replaced the "Day of Victory over Fascism in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." The relevant law No. 2539 “On the perpetuation of the victory over Nazism in the Second World War of 1939-1945” was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on April 9, 2015. The law prescribes respect for war veterans, participants in the Ukrainian liberation movement, the victims of Nazism and the memory of the victory over Nazism in World War II. Also, together with the EU countries, Ukraine annually celebrates the Day of Remembrance and Reconciliation on May 8: “We choose the European responsible model of remembrance, which honours all who fought against Nazism and all victims of the war. This is a proper warning against the recurrence of such tragedies in the future,” said Anton Drobovich, head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory. Read more disinformation cases about WWII here.

Disinfo: The EU is not helping, but you should not ask for Russian help

Brussels wanted to convince the Western Balkans that it is not “right” to ask for Russian help. The EU organised a summit to convince the Balkan states that aid from Russia and China is not about helping them; instead, it is aimed at “strengthening their positions on the continent.” When Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia asked for EU help to combat the crisis, Brussels did not do anything, but now the EU demanded that they take part in a video conference.

May 10, 2020
Disproof

The claims made in this article are broadly similar to recurring narratives about the EU's complete failure to respond to the coronavirus crisis. The EU is providing an EUR 3.3. billion package for the Western Balkans, including financial help to their healthcare sectors and exclusive access to EU instruments and medical equipment. According to the conclusions of the 6 May EU-Western Balkans summit, the participating states should work on fully aligning themselves with EU foreign policy solutions, notably on issues where "major common interests are at stake. The document does not mention Moscow and Beijing, and EU foreign policy is not against accepting medical assistance from Russia or China - as several EU members have accepted such help.