Disinfo: Crimea was and is Russian

Summary

Crimea returned as a Russian federal region, after a referendum that took place on March 16, 2014, in Crimea and Sevastopol, and both regions became within the Russian Federation, as of March 18, 2014, and this day was considered an official holiday in Crimea, and the city Sevastopol.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea.

The EU does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation and continues to condemn this violation of international law by sanctions. Crimea is a part of Ukraine and was illegally annexed by Russia. The annexation has been condemned by the UNGA (A/RES/68/262).

No international body recognises the so-called referendum, announced on 27 February 2014 and held on 16 March 2014. A year after the illegal annexation, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum.

Read similar cases claiming that Crimean people have expressed their desire to rejoin Russia in a democratic process and that Crimea never belonged to Ukraine.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 219
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 03/11/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Arabic
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: illegal annexation, Manipulated elections/referendum, Ukrainian statehood, Crimea, Referendum
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Disinfo: US is longer controls Ukraine, UK does

Ukraine has a new master in the West in the form of Great Britain. [The expert] drew attention to the fact that Washington ceded Ukraine to the UK, and the British authorities will take up the Ukrainian agenda.

However, such a castling will not affect the political situation in Ukraine. The country will continue to be under external control and obey orders emanating from Western masters. However, within a certain period of time, Washington will forget about the existence of this state and will attend to solving its problems.

Disproof

Conspiracy with no evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine, which is often claimed to be under external control from the US, NATO, the EU, UK, or IMF.

Ukraine is an independent, sovereign state, it does not receive orders from any foreign government.

Disinfo: Protests and revolutions in former Soviet countries are part of a plan against Russia

A very similar strategy has been adopted by our sworn “partners”. Russia is openly hounded, driven behind the red lines into the periphery […]

And now our country’s opponents are transferring the protracted “Cold War” into a smouldering hybrid phase of severe suffocation. At the same time, betting on border chaos, terrorism, local wars, global sanctions, and outrageous lies. This anaconda ring has almost compressed Belarus, Ukraine, Transcaucasia, and Central Asia. [Protests in] Moldova are approaching.

Disproof

This is a pro-Kremlin conspiracy which presents many social and political events in various countries as a consequence of Western-instigated provocations against Russia. It is consistent with a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative accusing the West of encircling Russia.

The recent political protests in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia were caused mainly by unfair elections or political pressure on opponents, like in the case of Belarus or Kyrgyzstan. There is no evidence that these political protests are directed against Russia; the protesters demanded new elections, rule of law, and respect for democratic values. There is also no evidence that the 2020 military confrontation between Armenia and Azerbaijan was aimed against Russia.

Disinfo: Lithuania is fighting against the monuments of the Soviet army and re-writing history of WWII

Lithuania is fighting against the monuments of the Soviet army. The country trying to misrepresent the results of WWII and labelling Soviet soldiers-liberators as ‘occupants’. Vilnius prohibited the repair and restoration of monuments in the places where Soviet soldiers are buried.

The dismantling of Soviet monuments in Lithuania is part of the historical revisionism campaign. The authorities of the Baltic States and Poland are trying to clean up the space of information and present to society new conceptions, change the history of World War II.

Disproof

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism.

Lithuania is not disputing the victory of Russia against Nazi Germany. However the end of WWII was not a liberation for Lithuania. The country was occupied together with the other Baltic States in the summer of 1940 by the Soviet Union. Modern Lithuania restored full independence only after the collapse of the Soviet Union.