Disinfo: Breaking the diplomatic ties is the last step before a shooting war

Summary

Breaking the diplomatic ties is the last stage before the beginning of a full scale war. No one talks about this: only about economic, political and other ties.

Breaking the ties with the European Union does not mean that Russia or the EU is calling home its ambassadors. Breaking the diplomatic ties means the beginning of a war. The last step before a shooting war. The Cold War went on without cessastion of diplomatic relations. American and European embassadors sat in the Soviet Union; Soviet ambassadors – in the US and in Europe. That did not stop anyone from waging the Cold War.

Disproof

A claim along the lines of the narrative of the "Beseiged Fortress". EU relations to Russia are based on dialogue. At the same time, EU expects that Russia lives up to its commitments to international law and agreements and to its own constitution and national legislation.

Russia continues to occupy territories in Georgia and Ukraine and is supporting separatist entities in Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. Russian police is violating the Russian people's constitutional rights to protest. Russian state operatives have been tied to repeated cases of chemical warfare attacks, both in Russia and outside Russia's borders.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 232
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 16/02/2021
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Europe, EU, US, Russia
  • Keywords: New Cold War, Diplomacy with Russia, Cold War
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Disinfo: In the US, white American citizens are demonised and are viewed as racists and fascists

In the US, white American citizens, who were the founders of the United States, are demonised and viewed as racists and fascists who must be suppressed. White Americans are seen as second-class citizens and “enemies of democracy”.

Disproof

The article combines recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the alleged victimisation of white people in American society and about racial war and state of collapse in the United States.

The narrative about the alleged persecution of white people in America was spread by several pro-Kremlin outlets in the context of the 2020 racial justice protests in the US. The narrative was again amplified by these outlets in the context of the 2020 US election.

Disinfo: The White Helmets are organising a false flag provocation in Idlib, Syria

The White Helmets are organising a false flag provocation in Idlib, Syria. The Russian Ministry of Defence has evidence that the White Helmets militant group has arrived in North-East Syria to organise a provocation and accuse Syrian government forces of attacking settlements in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

The Russian army has observed an increase in the operations of the Tahrir Al-Sham terrorist group in the village of Al-Fuah, north-east of Idlib. Members of the White Helmets have also been observed there.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative portraying the White Helmets as a Western-backed terrorist proxy and, implicitly, denying the responsibility of the Assad regime for chemical attacks perpetrated during the Syrian civil war.

There is no evidence to support the article’s claim that the White Helmets are planning a false -flag attack in Idlib.

Disinfo: Belarus and Russia withstood attempts of a soft coup d'état

The technology for a velvet revolution was widely used in the summer of 2020 in Belarus. Later, the same toolbox was attempted in Russia. Both countries withstood the attempts of a soft coup d’état.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about protests in Belarus and Russia. The EUvsDisinfo database contains almost 400 similar claims, attempting to describe protests anywhere in the world - from Venezuela to Hong Kong and currently in Russia- as a result of foreign involvement.

The protests in Belarus have continued for over six months, despite severe police repression. The protests erupted to contest the results of the presidential election in Belarus on the 9th of August, which were not monitored by independent expertsand are largely considered fraudulent by both international observers and a big part of Belarusian society. On 19 August 2020, the European Council called the Belarusian elections neither free nor fair. In October 2020, the EU-Council imposed sanctions against 40 individuals identified as responsible for repression and intimidation against peaceful demonstrators, opposition members and journalists in the wake of the 2020 presidential election in Belarus, as well as for misconduct of the electoral process.