Disinfo: Germany and other countries planned coup in Belarus

Summary

Germany and other countries planned a coup. Terrorist sleeper cells, so-called self-defence formations, were revealed. These cells, about which the imprisoned Raman Pratasevich recently spoke [...] intend to carry out a coup [in Belarus] on a certain date... The coordinators are Lithuania, Poland, the United States of America, Ukraine and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about an alleged Western attempt to organise a coup or colour revolution in Belarus. In this case, Germany among other Western countries is accused of organising a coup in Belarus, a claim presented without evidence.

The protests in Belarus erupted to contest the results of the presidential election on 9 August 2020, which were not monitored by independent experts, and are largely considered fraudulent by both international observers and a big part of the Belarusian society. On 19 August 2020, the European Council called Belarusian elections neither free nor fair.

Mobilisations were organised and carried out by local actors, opposition politicians and Belarusian citizens, without any foreign involvement. 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. See the full text and the Council conclusions (page 10).

The EU imposed new restrictive measures against the Belarusian regime to respond to the escalation of serious human rights violations in Belarus and the violent repression of civil society, democratic opposition and journalists, as well as to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk on 23 May 2021 and the related detention of journalist Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega.

The goal of the fourth package of sanctions is to put pressure on the Belarusian political leadership to initiate a genuine and inclusive national dialogue with broader society and to avoid further repression. However, the EU continues to support the Belarusian people and civil society and outlined a 3 billion EUR economic support package to a future democratic Belarus.

Read earlier disinformation cases alleging that Poland is preparing Euromaidan scenario for Belarus, that Belarus will turn anti-Russian in case it does not deepen integration with Russia, that the West's only interest in Belarus is to make it anti-Russian, and that the US plans to turn Belarus into its colony, a coup and foreign military invasion may happen.

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RT DE - YouTube [from 00:00:49 to 00:01:37] [from 00:00:49 to 00:01:37] (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 259
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 03/07/2021
  • Article language(s) German
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Belarus, Germany, Lithuania, US, Poland, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Coup, Raman Pratasevich, Terrorism
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Disinfo: The West needs Ukraine for NATO bases as Kyiv prepares for mythical Russian invasion

The West needs Ukrainian land to build NATO bases. Ukraine keeps on dreaming about NATO membership and is preparing for a mythical Russian invasion.

Jul 02, 2021
Disproof

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin media, claiming that NATO is a hostile bloc, one of whose main goals is to surround Russia with military bases in former Soviet republics including Ukraine.

In reality, NATO is primarily a defensive and political organisation that first and foremost strives to prevent conflict rather than using military force to solve it. That is why the NATO-Ukraine partnership is based on defensive grounds. Joint military exercises help enhance the defence capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and are not aimed against any country. It is obvious that Kyiv's future membership in NATO will bring NATO bases to Ukrainian soil because it is quite natural for a member of a military alliance to host bases of this alliance. Together with that, NATO will bring stability to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, which is not mythical but real. It has been going on since 2014 when Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and instigated a revolt in Donbas.

Disinfo: Eastern Partnership is the anti-Russian and “postcolonial” project of the EU

From its very beginning, the EU Eastern Partnership programme was not the instrument for cooperation but a tool of interference in internal affairs of the post-Soviet countries. This initiative, promoted by the Foreign Ministers of Poland and Sweden Radosław Sikorski and Carl Bildt, had one obvious geopolitical goal: to weaken the relations of these countries with Russia and to isolate Moscow on the post-Soviet space. That is why the project was immediately welcomed by the Americans, while the Germans and the French were sceptical about it.

The Eastern Partnership contradicts the very concept of “partnership” as it imposes a whole series of obligations on one side and leads to interference in its internal political affairs.

There is an assumption that political practices adopted in the countries of the East are inferior in comparison to the supposedly enlightened and progressive West. It is the result of a superior postcolonial approach to the republics of the former Soviet Union, which are not perceived as subjects, but objects for various decisions, claims and instructions.

Jul 02, 2021
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the EU Eastern Partnership, which is pictured as an “anti-Russian” and “postcolonial” tool used by the EU for alleged interference in internal affairs of the post-Soviet countries.

On 26 June 2021, Belarus suspended its participation in the Eastern Partnership – this step was the reaction of the official Minsk to the introduction of the next package of the EU sanctions against Lukashenka’s regime.

Disinfo: Ukraine to sell its land to West in exchange for friendship

Ukraine thinks its friendship with the West is for free, but it is not. Ukraine will pay for it by letting the West buy its land.

Jul 02, 2021
Disproof

This is a relatively recent disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin media, claiming that Ukraine’s law on the circulation of agricultural land will lead to its territory being sold to foreigners.

In reality, the law, which entered into force on 1 July 2021, stipulates that Ukrainian citizens alone can acquire up to 100 hectares of land each. From 1 January 2024, companies owned by Ukrainians will be able to buy up to 10,000 hectares of land. The law prohibits the purchase of land by foreigners. The issue of whether foreign citizens will be able to purchase land in Ukraine or not will be decided by a national referendum.