Disinfo: Military operation was launched because Kyiv did not implement Minsk agreements

Summary

Moscow launched its operation after Ukraine failed to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements signed in 2014 and Russia finally recognised the Donbas republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, actively trying to legitimise Russia’s invasion of the country. This narrative is claiming that Ukraine is responsible for the war because the country did not implement the Minsk agreements.

Contrary to the claims, the main impediment to a peace settlement in Donbas before the invasion was, in fact, Russia’s and its proxies’ deliberate unwillingness to implement the Minsk agreements. Moscow has been illegally providing weapons to the separatists since 2014.

Moreover, in late October 2021, Russia deployed as many as 190,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, as well as certain specialised military units, electronic warfare systems and heavy-armoured vehicles generating great concern in Ukraine, Europe and across the world.

On 21 February 2022, after weeks of extreme tensions, President Vladimir Putin decided to recognise the non-government controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts (administrative regions) in Ukraine as independent entities and to send Russian troops into these areas. This way, Russia has clearly violated the Minsk agreements.

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. The EU condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine and imposed the toughest restrictive measures on Russia. Read more about the EU response and support for Ukraine.

For further debunking of myths related to the Minsk agreements see the EUvsDisinfo article addressing the most common disinformation claims preceding the invasion.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 279
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 06/04/2022
  • Article language(s) Hungarian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Minsk agreements, War in Ukraine, Donbas, EU/NATO enlargement
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Disinfo: Accusations against Russia are groundless, Bucha events are a well-directed show

Any accusations against the Russian side, against the Russian military, of war crimes in Bucha are not just groundless, but a well-directed show.

Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation obfuscating atrocities against Ukrainian civilians committed by the Russian armed forces in Bucha, in the vicinity of Kyiv.

[Please note that some of the images and descriptions referenced in this case are distressing.]

Disinfo: Bucha provocation aimed at accusing Russia of war crimes; no civilians suffered from Russian troops

All photos and videos about the alleged crimes of Russian troops in the Ukrainian town of Bucha near Kyiv are a provocation. Not a single civilian suffered from violence when Russian troops were there. Ukrainian troops were shelling Bucha round the clock.

Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation obfuscating atrocities against Ukrainian civilians committed by the Russian armed forces in Bucha, in the vicinity of Kyiv. The claim is made in the context of the wide Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022.

Russia's claims that video footage showing dead bodies on the streets of Bucha is staged have been fact-checked and debunked by the BBCBellingcat, The Atlantic Council, Mediazonathe InsiderSky News, the New York Times and others.

Disinfo: Ukrainian corpses move, stand up and avoid transport in Bucha

Ukrainian "corpses" move, stand up and avoid transport in Bucha. Fake throwers spread a video with "bodies of the dead" lying on the road, allegedly filmed in the city of Bucha, Kiev region. The "corpses" in the footage move their arms and remove their limbs so as not to fall under the wheels of military equipment.

Such staged footage of alleged "Russian crimes" is an example of the work of Western PR structures and media companies to promote fake news about the situation in Ukraine.

Disproof

Well-known pattern of pro-Kremlin disinformation obfuscating atrocities against Ukrainian civilians. This time committed by the Russian armed forces in Bucha, in the vicinity of Kyiv.

Russia's claims that video footage showing dead bodies on the streets of Bucha is staged have been fact-checked and debunked by the BBCBellingcat, The Atlantic Council, Mediazonathe InsiderSky News, the New York Times and others.