Disinfo: Crimea's re-unification with Russia was legal

Summary

US Ambassador in Athens Geoffrey Pyatt insists that Crimea’s reunification with Russia was illegal. He forgets that no illegal annexation took place and that the citizens of Crimea decided in a democratic referendum in 2014 and with huge majority to re-unite with the motherland. It was the United States which was intervening in Ukraine’s domestic affairs as evidenced by the phone call between Pyatt, who was the US Ambassador in Kiev in 2014 and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State on European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland. Pyatt and Nuland were discussing the composition of the new Ukrainian government.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea. Crimea is a part of Ukraine and was illegally annexed by Russia. In 2014, Russian troops obliged the parliament of Crimea to organise a referendum, which was illegitimate under international law, and then formally annexed the peninsula and brought it under Russian territorial control. The annexation has been condemned by the UNGA (see the resolution A/RES/68/262 on the territorial integrity of Ukraine). 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. The European Union does not recognise Crimea's annexation and continues to condemn it as a violation of international law. EU sanctions continue to be in place against Russia as a consequence of the annexation. For the EU's statement on the sixth anniversary of Crimea annexation see here.

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sputniknews.gr (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 201
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 08/06/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Greek
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US, Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: illegal annexation, Geoffrey Pyatt, Victoria Nuland, Crimea, NATO
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Disinfo: Children in the West are taught to fear and hate the police

Children in the West are taught to fear and hate the police. The almost nine-minute video on the (Nickelodeon) channel broadcasts a simple idea to young viewers: “The American police are killing people” – thereby instilling them with fear of law enforcement agencies.

Jun 07, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the current protests in the US. Last week, along with other networks, Nickelodeon paused its scheduled programming for exactly 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time Derek Chauvin from the Minneapolis Police Department had his knee pressed on Floyd's neck as he repeatedly said, "I can't breathe." It is a conspiracy theory to claim that children in the West are taught to fear and hate the police, the message diffused by the channel included no hate. In fact, last week, Nickelodeon's screen turned orange and its "Declaration of Kids' Rights" played across the screen. While a few parents complained that the “I Can’t Breathe” commercial that played during the blackout was too “scary” for their children, the vast majority insisted that the ad was “super important” for children to see. Nickelodeon's symbolic moment of silence followed a weekend of large-scale and impassioned protests across the United States, after the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. The responsible police officer has been charged with third-degree murder, and he and three other attending officers have been fired.

Disinfo: Military exercises, like Defender 2020, are directed against Russia

In NATO, they said the main task of the exercises (Defender Europe 2020) is to develop logistics and interaction between the Allies forces. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense indicates that maneuvers are directed against Russia. Almost all combat missions were practiced at training grounds located in the immediate vicinity of the Russian borders. Objects located on the territory of the Russian Federation were considered as probable targets of defeat.

Jun 07, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about NATO threatening or encircling Russia and the military exercise "Defender-Europe 2020". US Major General Andrew Rohling Deputy Commanding General for the US Army in Europe, informs that the US-led exercise "Defender 2020" is an American exercise with 18 NATO partner countries. Rohling emphasises that the aim of the exercise is not to target any country, but rather to test strategic readiness and how to react to a crisis. Defender Europe 2020 is not aimed against Russia and is defensive in nature. NATO’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg affirmed as well that it is not directed against any particular country. Its purpose is to practice the rapid deployment of large-scale forces across the Atlantic into Europe, demonstrating the US military’s ability to quickly send a massive contingent to support NATO and respond to any crisis. See other examples of disinformation about NATO in our database, such as its never-ending provocations, its attempts to block Moscow in its sphere of influence, the Alliance's permanent targeting of Russia and Belarus, its role as a US subjugation tool for other countries and its unreliability to defend its members or its plans to continue attacking other countries.

Disinfo: US investigative journalist is confident that Soros is behind George Floyd protests in US

Along with the whole of America, he (US resident interviewed in the street) is pondering over who arranged it all. I think George Soros is behind this. He encourages riots and pogroms by the black population. The investigative journalist Lara Logan is also confident that the financier George Soros is behind the protests. These protests are staged, they have their own huge network, and not only in the United States, but around the world, it is a global organisation. And many experts, politicians, do not want to talk about them, to call a spade a spade, to say that Antifa is doing it. Why? Because they have a serious patronage.

Jun 07, 2020
Disproof

The recurrent conspiracy narrative consisting in "always blaming George Soros". The Russian TV report misrepresents the opinion of one US resident, collating that with a misused quotation from a Fox News journalist. First, the microphone is supposed to be given to people on the street, which is usually serving to demonstrate the variety of opinions in professional journalism. However, only one recorded opinion about "Soros backing protests", is shown in the edited report. This quote is not supported by any other evidence neither rebuffed. To further support the Soros narrative, the journalist claims "The investigative journalist Lara Logan is also confident that the financier George Soros is behind the protests" and then quotes her :

"These protests are staged, they have their own huge network, and not only in the United States, but around the world, it is a global organisation. And many experts, politicians do not want to talk about them, to call a spade a spade, to say that Antifa is doing it. Why? Because they have a serious patronage". [reverse translation of Russian voice-over into English]

Fox News' journalist Lara Logan was speaking about the important role played by Antifa in the protests (regardless of whether accusations against them are true or not). She is saying "it is a global organisation" meaning Antifa, but she did not pronounce the name of "George Soros" as backing Antifa neither the name of "Open Society Foundation" which is funded by Soros. The widespread protests against racial injustice and police brutality broke out in the US after the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on the 25th of May, 2020. The protests followed several high-profile incidents involving African Americans and the police, invoking debates about racism in the US. See more disinformation cases on George Soros.