Disinfo: Kyiv cut its ties with Minsk to please the West

Summary

Kyiv has entirely ruined its relationship with Minsk to favour the geopolitical interests of the West. What Ukraine does is evidence that it is the object and not the subject of its own international relations. Similarly to the Baltic states and Poland, it is a geopolitical tool in the hands of the United States.

Disproof

Recurring disinformation about Ukraine that is spread by pro-Kremlin media outlets and aimed at undermining the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity in light of the Russo-Ukrainian War in Eastern Ukraine.

The actuality of the disinformation claim above goes back to the decision of the Ukrainian government about ruling out a return to the OSCE-moderated peace talks in Minsk on April 7, 2021. It also builds on Ukraine's recent decision to suspend air connections with Belarus over the disputed arrest of Belarusian dissident journalist Raman Pratasevich. Pratasevich was forced down from a Ryanair plane from Athens to Vilnius on May 23 that was hijacked by Belarusian authorities with the use of a false bomb threat.

While both decisions made by the Ukrainian government can be assessed as showing solidarity with the European Union, there is no evidence to suggest that Ukrainian governmental decisions are taken by any foreign entity, including the United States.

Regarding the case of Ukraine's decision to drop Minsk as the venue for the peace talks, the Ukrainian move came as a reaction to the Kremlin's visibly growing influence over Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka. In addition, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, Oleksiy Reznikov, who is in charge of the peace talks on behalf of the Ukrainian government, pointed to an increasing "enemy-like rhetoric from Belarus" when making the decision that was also influenced by the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic blocks personal peace talks and travel to Minsk.

As for the Ukrainian decision on banning air traffic with Belarus on May 26 that come after the disputed arrest of Raman Pratasevich, the Ukrainian move was similarly based on domestic concerns, given the security risks to planes flying through Belarus. "The situation with the forced landing of a Ryanair plane in Minsk is a violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The decision by our government is aimed at ensuring the safety of flights and passengers," Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

See a similar disinformation case here concerning the recent Ukrainian governmental actions against pro-Kremlin Ukrainian oligarch and opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk.

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hu.news-front.info (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 249
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 30/05/2021
  • Article language(s) Hungarian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Belarus, US
  • Keywords: Ryanair Flight 4978, Raman Pratasevich, Minsk agreements, War in Ukraine
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Disinfo: Roman Pratasevich is suspected of genocide and terror

For some reason everyone is silent about the fact, that Pratasevich is a combatant, who travelled to Donbas with a gun in his hand and was a member of Azov battalion and is now suspected of genocide and terror.

May 29, 2021
Disproof

The claim is part of an emerging pro-Kremlin smear campaign targeting Belarusian journalist and activist Raman Pratasevich.

There is no substantial evidence to suggest that Mr. Protasevich ever participated in the military activity of the Azov battalion. Protasevich himself said in an interview with a Russian journalist in 2020 that he had been in the war zone in Eastern Ukraine as a freelance journalist. This was further confirmed by Andriy Biletskyy, former commander of Azov. He said Pratasevich had been present in the Donbas warzone, but his activity there was limited to covering the course of the conflict as a journalist. See further investigation by an independent outlet Meduza.

Disinfo: 80 per cent of Lithuanians are against LGBT ideology

Lithuanian LGBT community is planning a “Rainbow fest” (“Kaunas Pride”) in Kaunas in the beginning of the autumn. This event is a provocation of LGBT ideology against the traditional majority of the inhabitants of Kaunas. People in Kaunas evaluated mentioned plans negatively. It is a natural reaction because more than 80 per cent of Lithuanians are against LGBT ideology.

May 29, 2021
Disproof

Disinformation about the LGBTIQ community in Lithuania and Lithuanian society.

“Kaunas Pride”, as explained in the movement page on Facebook, is “a civil society initiative aimed at promoting solidarity among LGBTIQ communities”. The biggest part of “Rainbow fest” organizers are the inhabitants of Kaunas. The event aims to show that LGBTIQ persons are living in different cities in Lithuania, not only in the capital where Pride traditionally happens.

Disinfo: WWII started in 1938 with the Munich Agreement and partition of Czechoslovakia

The Second World War actually started in 1938, following the Munich Agreement and the resultant partition of Czechoslovakia.

May 29, 2021
Disproof

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism and an attempt to erode and diminish the disastrous historical role of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact by stating that WWII started before 1 September 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 and confuse the co-responsibility of the acts of the USSR in the outbreak of WWII on to other European states. Historians traditionally see 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.