Disinfo: EU aid to Moldova will not be used for pensions and health but will go to NGOs

Summary

Financial assistance from the EU in the amount of 87 million euros allocated to Moldova will not get into the state budget but will be sent to various NGOs.

Disproof

Recurring disinformation narrative about European assistance, suggesting that it is not important, because it goes to different organisations, not directly in the state budget. This claim is also in line whit a recurring narrative claiming that only Russia and China provide real support. Read a similar case here. The EU Ambassador to Moldova, Peter Michalko, explained, in an interview for Deutsche Welle, that these 87 million euros are not new allocations, but money from current EU projects in Moldova, which will be redirected, in part, to mitigating the effects of the Covid-19 crisis on the population, including buying medical supplies and opening credit lines at banks for small entrepreneurs. More information here. At the request of the StopFals.md, the Delegation of the European Union to Moldova provided more details related to this assistance: "87 million euros are available for Moldova from projects that are either ongoing or planned. They will support the urgent, short-term emergency response to the crisis and the resulting humanitarian needs and provide assistance to overcome the economic and social consequences. These resources are intended to help the Moldovan citizens directly in overcoming the challenges created, and are also looking into long term improvement of the lives of people via economic and social development. Such assistance does not represent a direct transfer of funds into the budget of the Republic of Moldova, it is there to provide necessary tools to improve the situation created by COVID-19, from health, social and economic perspective.” The Delegation also mentioned that the European Commission has announced, for Moldova, the intention to propose for the approval of the European Parliament and Council a package of 100 million euros of macro-financial assistance. Further debunking about EU aid to Moldova in the COVID-19 crisis find in the StopFals.md article.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 195
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 22/04/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian, Romanian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: EU, China, Moldova, Russia
  • Keywords: coronavirus, European Union
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Disinfo: Skripal and MH17 are anti-Russian provocations that the West has forgotten about

The West’s is ready to reconcile with Russia on the backdrop of the epidemic in exchange for being drawn into a war with China.

As an unexpected result of the 2020 [coronavirus] pandemic, the West has forgotten the issue of the Skripals, Boeing [MH17], and other anti-Russian provocations of recent years.

Beijing is the new enemy of the West, and it is accused of “hiding the truth about the first stage of the epidemic” (which led to America not taking the necessary measures in due course).

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative attempting to delegitimise any criticism of Russian actions by presenting it as a manifestation of the West's "anti-Russian" provocations. In fact, the Skripal case, and the downing of MH17 are well-documented cases of acts of Kremlin-enabled violence outside Russia.

Also, the claims that the West is trying to drag Russia into a war with China and that the West had forgotten about Skripal and the downing of MH17 are given without any proof.

Disinfo: It is not plausible that the COVID-19 developed naturally

COVID-19, a disease that many experts weren’t expecting for a hundred thousand years, is a highly modified version of the Wuhan Horseshoe Bat Virus. It is not plausible that COVID-19 developed without a gene-splicing laboratory. The odds against such a disease developing naturally are astronomical yet we are continually informed of the opposite.

Disproof

Conspiracy theories about the 2019-nCoV coronavirus, there is no evidence to suggest that the virus is being used as a weapon against other states or that iswas fabricated insidelaboratories. This Coronavirus comes from a family of viruses that include the common cold and viruses such asSARS andMERS. The medical Journal “Emerging Microbes & Infections” specifically said there is “No credible evidence supporting claims of the laboratory engineering”.

Disinfo: Ukraine acts on behalf of the US and NATO to escalate the situation at the Azov Sea

The construction of a Ukrainian naval base in the Azov Sea is an indirect attempt by the West to artificially create a new international problem and an area of military tension near the Russian borders. The Ukrainian navy is acting on behalf of the U.S. and NATO to escalate a problem on the unilateral militarization of the Azov Sea.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on Ukraine and the Azov Sea, the aggressive West, NATO encircling Russia and NATO belligerence. This is consistent with the narratives challenging Ukrainian statehood and painting the US and NATO as the puppet-masters of Ukrainian politics. Ukraine is a sovereign state. Neither the US, nor NATO, control Ukraine. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity continue to be violated by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since February 2014. Despite NATO having refuted such claims many times, pro Kremlin propaganda systematically states that NATO planned to create military bases on the territory of Ukraine: in Crimea, Donbass, and now in the Sea of Azov. A bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty are considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine. A treaty stipulates that agreement from each of the two littoral countries is required for warships from any other country to enter the internal sea. It is worth recalling, that on November 2018, border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tugboat and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen and arresting 24 members. As NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated: "Now, Russia is attempting to use Crimea to expand its influence. And control the Sea of Azov."