Disinfo: Bucha is a bloody provocation by neo-Nazis and Ukraine's counterintelligence

Summary

There is evidence that Bucha is a bloody provocation organised by neo-Nazis and the counterintelligence of the Ukrainian security service. Proving this is very simple.

Shortly before the military action began, it was reported that lists had been drawn up in all regions and cities of Ukraine to remove the undesirables in the event of a military clash with Russia. Both counterintelligence officers and, above all, neo-Nazis were involved in the elimination of undesirables.

The bodies were taken to the forest near Irpin to be passed off later as victims of hostilities. Then the bodies were brought to Bucha, where they set up an alleged mass grave left behind by the Russian troops. There were also orders to shoot civilians in Bucha in order to take a photo and leave the bodies on the roadside.

Disproof

A well-known pattern of pro-Kremlin disinformation obfuscating atrocities against Ukrainian civilians committed by Russian armed forces in Bucha, in the vicinity of Kyiv.

The material and links may contain distressing/ graphic content.

Russia's claims that video footage showing dead bodies on the streets of Bucha is staged have been fact-checked and debunked by the BBCBellingcat, The Atlantic Council, Mediazonathe InsiderSky News, the New York Times and others.

Accounts of violence against civilians in Bucha have been collected by the Human Rights Watch:

On March 4, Russian forces in Bucha, about 30 kilometres northwest of Kyiv, rounded up five men and summarily executed one of them. A witness told Human Rights Watch that soldiers forced the five men to kneel on the side of the road, pulled their T-shirts over their heads, and shot one of the men in the back of the head. “He fell [over],” the witness said, “and the women [present at the scene] screamed.”

See also here.

The European Union has condemned in the strongest possible terms the reported atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces. The EU called for accountability for human rights and international law violations by the Russian Armed Forces, including full support for the investigation launched by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Read more about the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

See a related disinformation claim, alleging that videos from the Ukrainian town Bucha are context-and-evidence-free and the West is spreading fakes about Russian atrocities in Bucha.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 280
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 14/04/2022
  • Article language(s) German
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: war crimes, War in Ukraine
see more

Disinfo: West is planning to isolate Russian economy and cause its degradation

The West is apparently planning to isolate Russia as much as possible from the global economy and launch the process of the degradation and breakdown of its economic system. The attempt to block Russia consists of four components: financial, trade, transport and humanitarian spheres.

Disproof

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets about the West’s alleged hostility towards Russia.

Prior to the Russian war against Ukraine that broke out on 24 February 2022, Western nations had always been calling for solving all problems with Russia in a peaceful and diplomatic manner. Moscow’s overall aggressive policy has led to a tougher and better-balanced policy towards it by the West.

Disinfo: Destructive Russophobia is the official doctrine of Poland

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute (Poland) announced the closing of its Russian-language portal because of the alleged “genocide in Ukraine and the Russian crimes against civilians”. The present-day policy is clear: to destroy and erase the entire heritage of the Russian nation from the cultural space of humanity. This step is about blind racism and destructive Russophobia, which has become an official state doctrine in Warsaw and several other capitals.

Disproof

This message is a part of the Kremlin’s narrative about Russophobic and anti-Russian Poland. The pro-Kremlin outlets regularly accuse the Polish authorities of Russophobia and inspiration of the anti-Russian sentiments in order to reach particular domestic goals.

Recently, the Adam Mickiewicz Institute (Poland) indeed decided to close down the Russian-speaking version of web-page culture.pl protesting against the Russian atrocities and crimes against the Ukrainian people. Instead, they opened a Ukrainian version of this portal (https://culture.pl/ua). This step was made not because of alleged Russophobia, but because of extremely violent and uncivilised Russian actions in Ukraine.

Disinfo: Russian action in Ukraine to prevent Third World War

Russia’s special military operation to de-Nazify and demilitarise Ukraine is aimed at preventing a Third World War, which would be a war between Russia and the EU in the West of Eurasia with China and Japan's involvement.

Disproof

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets about the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and an attempt to justify it.

In reality, the Russian invasion that broke out on 24 February 2022 is aimed against Ukraine as a state and the Ukrainians as a nation. Russian leader Vladimir Putin seems to be doing everything to involve the West in a global war rather than preventing one. Western leaders do not want the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine to spread to other countries, while some Russian politicians and experts are threatening to pass on and attack Western nations. These threats are not usually official Russian statements, but they are voiced to test Western resection. Russia is also trying to involve China into the war by asking it for weapons and political support. It is Russia who is responsible for these risky developments, while Western nations are doing everything to avoid an all-out war on the continent and beyond.