NATO forces are trying to encircle Russia. The ring around Russia is not weakening, no. They are enlarging the contingent, increasing the number of manoeuvres and provocations near the borders. All this is accompanied by an increasing anti-Russian hysteria. With the disappearance of the Warsaw Pact and the entire Soviet bloc, no agreements were respected, NATO moved to the East. NATO has one goal – to neutralise Russia.
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about NATO allegedly pursuing a belligerent and hostile agenda against Russia.
First, NATO is not encircling Russia. Russia's land border is just over 20,000 kilometres long. Of that, less than one-sixteenth (1,215 kilometres), is shared with NATO members. Russia has land borders with 14 countries. Only five of them are NATO members.
Then, NATO enlargement was not "contrary to promises". NATO Allies take decisions by consensus and these are recorded. There is no record of any such decision having been taken by NATO. Even if there was a personal assurance from an individual leader, it could not replace Alliance consensus and does not constitute a formal NATO agreement. This promise was never made, as confirmed by Mikhail Gorbachev, then-president of the Soviet Union:
"The topic of 'NATO expansion' was not discussed at all, and it wasn't brought up in those years. I say this with full responsibility. Not a single Eastern European country raised the issue, not even after the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist in 1991. Western leaders didn't bring it up either."
Central and Eastern European countries began seeking NATO membership in the early 1990s. NATO actively sought to create a cooperative environment that was conducive to enlargement while simultaneously building special relations with Russia.
Furthermore, NATO does not "expand" in the imperialistic sense as described by pro-Kremlin media. Rather, it considers the applications of candidate countries who want to join the alliance based on their own national will. As such, NATO enlargement is not directed against Russia. NATO's "Open Door Policy" is based on Article 10 of the Alliance's founding document, the North Atlantic Treaty (1949). The Treaty states that NATO membership is open to any "European state in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area". Every sovereign nation has the right to choose its own security arrangements.
See more similar disinfo cases alleging that NATO promised Russia it would not expand to the East and that NATO forgot all the previously existing agreements and expanded despite promises made to Gorbachev.
Ukraine can’t keep Odesa because the ruling Russophobic regime is simply unable to keep the Russian regions together.
All elections so far revealed the dividing line between Russians and Ukrainians. Therefore, the process of returning Donbas to Ukraine seems to be a useless exercise – if the territories are integrated, then this will lead to another conflict. The same applies to the Odesa region – the region inhabited by Russians will not be able to endlessly follow Kyiv’s policy.
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine's disintegration and imminent collapse, and Russophobia. It is also a disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, aiming to portray the conflict as Ukraine's civil war.
Read similar disinformation cases alleging that Ukraine is not a country, but a territory, that Ukraine has never existed as an independent country, that Donetsk and Luhansk independence triggered a Ukrainian military operation, that the Euromaidan coup led to civil war in Donbas, and that war in Ukraine is a civil war.
[…] the project is absolutely pro-American, which may insert a wedge between Russia and Europe.
[…] it is not worth talking about an economic union of three not very successful countries in such a context; it is only about the fulfilment of someone else’s will, under NATO’s control. [It is] a fist to strike at Russia, a classic Anglo-Saxon proxy war.
Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative accusing Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania of Russophobia and encircling Russia.
The Lublin Triangle is a new regional initiative that will focus on developing and enhancing the economic, political, and cultural ties of Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania. It will also serve as an important mechanism for strengthening Central Europe and promoting Ukraine's European and Euroatlantic integration.
The GRU is once again in the spotlight of the American press. The Associated Press and the New York Times published articles about how Russian intelligence is conducting a campaign of misinformation about the coronavirus among Americans in order to instil in them uncertainty about the future and undermine stability. The media refer to some declassified intelligence materials and their own sources.
What we see now is what totalitarianism looks like. Real and authentic. When you can declare any quantity and carry any stupidity.
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative attempting to depict accusations of Russian meddling in Western life as factually unfounded and driven by "Russophobia".
According to the New York Times, declassified U.S. intelligence accuses Moscow of pushing propaganda through alternative websites as Russia refines techniques used in 2016.
