Disinfo: It is possible to count the outbreak of WWII from the Anschluss or the partition of Czechoslovakia

Summary

Maybe it is necessary to change the date of the outbreak of WWII to 1938? The signing of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact in August 1939 had allegedly led to the outbreak of the international conflict. The authors of such myths have a goal to fight Russia. The widely recognised date of the outbreak of WWII is September 1st 1939, when the Germans attacked Poland. However, it is possible to provide earlier dates for the outbreak of WWII, for example, the date of the Anschluss of Austria or the date that Czechoslovakia was partitioned.

Disproof

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism and an attempt to erode the disastrous historical role of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact by stating that WWII started before September 1st, 1939 (referring to the Munich Agreements, the Anschluss, etc.).

The attempts to move the date of the outbreak of WWII to various pre-war events is an example of historical revisionism, carried out in order to shift the co-responsibility of the USSR for the outbreak of WWII on to other European states. Mainstream historiography traditionally perceives such historical developments as the Italian invasion of Ethiopia (1935), the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), the Japanese invasion of China (1937), the Anschluss (1938) and the Munich Agreements (1938) as pre-war events.

World War II started on September 1, 1939, from the German attack on Poland. This invasion was a direct consequence of the Secret Protocols to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, where Nazi Germany and the USSR divided the “spheres of influence” in Eastern and Central Europe. The Soviet Union attacked Poland on September 17, 1939, implementing its part of the Secret Protocols.

Read similar examples of the Russian historical revisionism concerning Poland - Poland posed a military threat to the USSR in 1938-1939, Nazi Germany considered Poland its best ally, If Poland realised a rational policy in 1939, Moscow would have had a different approach towards it and Poland re-writes the history of the Warsaw uprising accusing the USSR of its failure.

Go to search

publication/media

pl.sputniknews.com (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 184
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13/02/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Polish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Russia
  • Keywords: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Historical revisionism, USSR, WWII, Nazi/Fascist
see more

Disinfo: There is no accurate list of victims who were killed during NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

There is no accurate list of all the victims even after 20 years since the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Estimates are that during the NATO bombing, between 1,500 and 2,500 people died and about 6,000 were injured. However, none made a list of their names.

Feb 12, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the number of civilian casualties of NATO bombing, previously debunked by Polygraph, and war in former Yugoslavia, aiming to portray NATO's bombing in Yugoslavia as more devastating and to demonise NATO's actions during the Yugoslav war. The Sputnik article presents no source of the quoted number of killed civilians.

According to the Humanitarian Law Center, in Serbia (excluding Kosovo) and Montenegro, 275 persons lost their lives in the NATO bombings: 180 civilians, 90 members of the Yugoslav Armed Forces and five members of the Ministry of Interior of Serbia. In Kosovo, 484 people were killed: 267 civilians (209 Albanian and 58 non-Albanian), 171 members of the YA, 20 members of the Serbian MUP and 26 members of the KLA (19 of whom died in the NATO bombing of the Dubrava prison, near Istok).

Disinfo: Crimea is a Russian region

Crimea is a Russian region; in light of current development programmes, any proposal to supply water to [Crimea] on a commercial or a non-commercial basis can be considered.

Feb 12, 2020
Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.

Crimea is not Russian but was illegally annexed by Moscow based on an illegitimate referendum. On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in which it stated that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. On 17th December 2018, the UN General Assembly confirmed its non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea.

Disinfo: The conflict in Donbas is an internal Ukrainian problem

For Donbas, this is an internal Ukrainian problem, and we [Russia] are doing everything we can to contribute to its solution.

Feb 12, 2020
Disproof

One of the most common disinformation narratives claiming that Russia has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. See a similar case denying Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation". At the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014 and at successive summits since then, NATO leaders condemned Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine in the strongest terms and demanded that Russia stop and withdraw its forces from Ukraine and along the country’s border. NATO leaders also demanded that Russia complies with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities; end its illegitimate occupation of Crimea; refrain from aggressive actions against Ukraine; halt the flow of weapons, equipment, people and money across the border to the separatists; and stop fomenting tension along and across the Ukrainian border.