Disinfo: Nazi-like Ukrainian government, along with Poland and the Baltic states, threatens Belarus

Summary

Until recently, Ukrainian neo-Nazism was believed to be a threat to Russia and Russians only. However, Ukrainian Nazism goes beyond Russophobia; it started targeting Belarus. Together with Poland and the Baltic states, Ukraine has turned into the springboard of special operations aimed at the destabilisation of the political and economic situation in Belarus.

Moreover, Kyiv began competing with Warsaw and Vilnius over the status of the major promoter of the so called democratic changes in Belarus. The Nazi-like Zelenskyy's government does not care about the well-being of Belarus, it only wants to bring the country to the West. It is not accidental that Kyiv undertook a serious military escalation in Donbas at the time when a coup attempt in Belarus was taking place.

Hence, Belarus finds itself under the fire from its neighbouring countries and the collective West. Due to the fact that Ukraine has no chances for success in direct confrontation with Russia, only destabilising posts along the whole perimeter of Russian border might work.

Disproof

The disinformation message is consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the aggressive West and NATO, the Western attempts to instigate colour revolutions in the EU neighbourhood, and Nazi/fascist Ukraine. It also aims to blame the West and Ukraine for the recent escalation in Donbas, exempting Russia of any responsibility for its military buildup in the Ukrainian border.

There is no evidence that Western countries staged massive unprecedented protests in Belarus following the 9 August 2020 presidential elections. In fact, the Belarusian people revolted against election fraud and police violence towards thousands of rally participants. The Baltic states, Poland, and other NATO states, as well as Ukraine, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Belarus, and did not intervene in its domestic affairs. Following the deployment of additional units of the Belarusian army on the country's border with Poland and Lithuania in late August 2020, the Polish Defence Ministry denied Belarusian authorities' allegations and reiterated in its official position that Poland has no territorial claims on any country.

Moscow-backed separatists have been mounting tensions in Donbas over the recent weeks under the pretext that Ukrainian troops are planning an offensive. Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed on 26 March 2021, which is the largest daily death toll for government troops since the fragile truce that took effect July 2020.

The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been the cornerstone of Russian disinformation about the country since the very beginning of the 2013-14 Euromaidan protests, when it was used to discredit the pro-European popular uprising in Kyiv and, subsequently, the broader pro-Western shift in Ukraine's foreign policy. Far-right groups enjoyed a very limited presence during the Euromaidan itself and had poor results in the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections. In the 2019 election, far-right candidates scored very low (1-2%) and fell short of the 5% minimum guaranteeing entry into parliament.

See other examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives in Belarus, such as claims that Belarus mobilised its air force fearing an imminent NATO invasion, that Poland and Lithuania are destabilising Belarus to turn it into a Russophobic limitrophe, that the West needs Belarus as a springboard to attack Russia.

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  • Reported in: Issue 242
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 22/04/2021
  • Article language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Baltic states
  • Keywords: Nazi/Fascist, Volodymyr Zelensky, Anti-Russian, Donbas, Protest, Conspiracy theory, Russophobia, Colour revolutions
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Disinfo: Russia is committed to cooperation not confrontation, while the US conducts aggressive foreign policy

Russia's foreign policy is notable for its firmness, while Moscow is doing everything possible to reduce the international tension.

Individual states, and primarily the US, allow themselves to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, whether by organising colour revolutions or distributing arrogant instructions on what and how. Any reaction to this, in Russia, is always manifested in the form of retaliatory actions, that is, it is actually a matter of self-defence. If Russia imposes sanctions, these are always retaliatory measures, counter-sanctions. Russia’s external agenda is set on the development of cooperation, not on confrontation, and Putin has once again confirmed this in his address speech.

Apr 21, 2021
Disproof

This is a mix of several recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about encircling Russia, popular protests as the result of Western-led colour revolutions, sanctions and belligerent West.

The disinformation narrative of colour revolutions has been applied, among others, to the Arab Spring revolts, Euromaidan in Ukraine, protests in Catalonia, Venezuela, Georgia, and Belarus.

Disinfo: Vrebitce explosion: Czech investigation meant to deflect attention from Lukashenko assassination attempt

Lukashenko and his children were to be assassinated and they were saved by Putin. Russian special services have opened a case, based on video and audio evidence, arrested an American citizen who entered from Poland (also having a Belarusian citizenship) and his affiliates.

Half an hour later, in order to cover up [the attempted assassination of Lukashenko and his family] the Czech Republic allegedly concluded the investigation into the 2014 terrorist attacks and named two Russian nationals as perpetrators.

Apr 21, 2021
Disproof

This is part of a disinformation campaign about the events surrounding the Vrbetice explosion in 2014 and the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic in 2021 after the involvement of Russian state actors was established by Czech authorities. This campaign follows a similar pattern to others launched after notorious incidents, such as the downing of the MH17 flight or the poisonings of Sergei Skripal and Alexei Navalny, including official denials despite compelling evidence, spreading of multiple and often contradictory versions and speculation about dark motives behind the accusations. Through these campaigns, the disinformation narratives aim to deflect any Russian responsibility for the incident and portray Russia as innocent of any misdeed.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and the temporary Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Hamáček announced on 17 April 2021 that the Czech intelligence services collected evidence demonstrating Russian involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice explosion. More specifically, it implicates Unit 29155, a division of Russia's GRU agency previously linked to "assassination attempts and other subversive actions across Europe."

Disinfo: Czech-Russian diplomatic row was staged to target Rosatom and deflect attention from a coup attempt in Belarus

There are three rationales behind the story about the alleged Russian involvement in the depot explosion in the Czech Republic in 2014. First, it is meant to deflect attention from the coup attempt in Belarus and accusations against the US of an assassination attempt against Alexander Lukashenko.

Second, it has to do with the Czech intention to purchase Sputnik V vaccines, which already resulted in the dismissal of the Czech government.

Third, to interrupt the participation of Rosatom in the Czech nuclear tender. As a successful and reputable Russian company, Rosatom has been the target of [Western] attacks.

Apr 21, 2021
Disproof

The claim is part of an emerging pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative surrounding the 2014 fatal explosion at an ammo depot in Vrbetice, Czechia and the suspected role of Russia's GRU agency in the incident.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and the temporary Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Hamáček announced on 17 April 2021 that the Czech intelligence services collected evidence demonstrating Russian involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice explosion. More specifically, it implicates Unit 29155, a division of Russia's GRU agency previously linked to "assassination attempts and other subversive actions across Europe."