Disinfo: MH17 was a false flag attack, planned by British and Ukrainian security agencies

Summary

MH17’s downing was a meticulously preplanned plot by the Ukrainian and British security agencies to pin the blame for this false flag attack on the Donbas rebels, all with the intent of portraying them as “terrorists”.

Disproof

An unfounded conspiracy theory, attempting to undermining the Joint International Investigation of the downing of the flight MH17. A special team, known as the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), was established to conduct the criminal investigation of the downing of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. The JIT comprises officials from the Dutch Public Prosecution Service and the Dutch police, along with police and criminal justice authorities from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine. The JIT has concluded that flight MH17 was shot down on 17 July 2014 by a missile of the 9M38 series, launched by a BUK-TELAR, from farmland in the vicinity of Pervomaiskiy (or: Pervomaiskyi). At that time, the area was controlled by pro-Russian fighters. The BUK-TELAR was brought in from the territory of the Russian Federation and subsequently, after having shot down flight MH17, was taken back to the Russian Federation. The Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT), has concluded that the BUK-TELAR used to down MH17, originates from the 53rd Anti Aircraft Missile brigade, a unit of the Russian army from Kursk in the Russian Federation. The European Union and NATO have called on the Russian Federation to accept its responsibility and to fully cooperate with all efforts to establish accountability. On the basis of the JIT’s conclusions, the Netherlands and Australia are convinced that Russia is responsible for the deployment of the Buk installation that was used to down MH17. The two governments are formally holding Russia accountable. The US has supported the decisions by the Netherlands and Australia.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 179
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 04/01/2020
  • Outlet language(s) English
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: UK, The Netherlands, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Conspiracy theory, MH17
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Disinfo: The Treaty of Tartu has lost its force

Moscow currently regards the Treaty of Tartu as a historical document that lost its legal force long ago.

In 1944, Estonia joined the Soviet Union.

Disproof

The peace treaty between the Republic of Estonia and Soviet Russia was signed on 2 February 1920, and it ended the Estonian War of Independence that had lasted for nearly a year and a half. According to the treaty, Russia recognised Estonian independence de jure, renouncing voluntarily “for ever all rights of sovereignty formerly held by Russia over the Estonian people and territory”. It also established Estonia’s eastern border.

To this day the section 122 of the constitution of Estonia reads: "The land border of Estonia is determined by the Tartu Peace Treaty of 2 February 1920 and by other international border agreements." Thus Estonia regards the Tartu Peace Treaty very much in effect.

Disinfo: Ukraine does not want to buy gas from Russia because its politicians monopolise the gas market

Ukraine does not want to buy gas for the needs of the population from Russia due to the fact that Ukrainian politicians want to maintain full control over Ukraine’s gas market.

Disproof

This case appeared against the backdrop of an interview with the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Dmytro Kuleba, to Interfax-Ukraine. The politician said that Ukraine is not ready to return to direct gas supplies from Russia, because it intends to do this only within the framework of the European energy market and according to its rules. According to Kuleba, the introduction of European legislation into the gas sector of Ukraine is necessary so that Russian Gazprom cannot use gas issues as an instrument of political blackmail. “When we create an integrated energy gas market in accordance with EU standards, we cannot ban companies from buying gas from Gazprom in accordance with their agreements, but in Ukraine, Gazprom will exclusively play according to European rules and regulations. It will not have a monopoly, will not be able to impose its conditions by bribing officials, it will be one of the players," said Kuleba. Read similar cases entitled gas prices are too high in Ukraine and thatthe United States intends to capture the European gas market.

Disinfo: The US is not a free country and is under occupation by multinational elites

Through the collective thinking of the finest of its experts in various fields, the Kremlin settled on the fact that there is no real problem between Russia as a country and a people, and America as a country and a people. However, the problem is that America is not a free country, and its people do not decide the future of its major policies and orientations. Rather, the American state and its ruling establishment are kidnapped by a bunch of influential multinationals, and this bunch are the ones who own banks, money, and all major economic sectors through the Federal Reserve System and they use America, its strength and greatness to achieve their interests. If America is liberated from this “occupation” and thinks about its national interests and takes into account the requirements of its people, there will virtually be no problems with it.

Disproof

Conspiracy theory without evidence. Claiming that the media and government are under total control by shadowy rulers is a common trope in pro-Kremlin disinformation. Discrediting the governance model of democratic states is also a pro-Kremlin strategy to counter criticism of its own authoritarianism.

While democracy is not immune to setbacks and needs to be constantly defended, the US consistently ranks as a fully democratic state. In the 2019 Global Democracy Index, the US ranked as a full democracy in the 25th place, while Russia ranked as an authoritarian regime in the 134th place.