Disinfo: Poles don't like being a colony of America

Summary

Poles don’t like being a colony of America. Although Warsaw is part of the EU, its foreign policy is largely oriented towards Washington, since it does not trust its “European partners” in matters of ensuring its own security.

Disproof

The recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the US presence in Europe, alleging that the United States fully controls the foreign policy of other nations, especially EU member states, including Poland, Romania and the Baltic states (these countries are often presented as American “vassals” or puppet states). Some countries of Eastern and Central Europe such as Poland, Romania and the Baltic states have close political relations with the United States, but this fact does not impact their independence nor membership of the European Union. Poland is a sovereign state, which shapes its own foreign and domestic policies. The political, economic and military relations between Poland and the United States have mutually beneficial character. See other examples of this message claiming that Polish policy towards Ukraine is shaped by the Americans, the US keeps Poland on a short anti-Russian leash, and Poland is a Trojan Horse of the United States.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 206
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 16/07/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: EU, Poland, Russia
  • Keywords: US presence in Europe, Russophobia
see more

Disinfo: Ukrainian nationalists are fighting in Donbas with local residents

Ukrainian nationalists are not fighting the Russian Federation army in Donbas, as Kyiv claims, but with local residents, many of whom are citizens of the Russian Federation.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, attempting to portray it as a civil war.

The war in eastern Ukraine is not a civil conflict, but an act of aggression by the Russian armed forces, that has continued since February 2014. The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation".

Disinfo: Galician project in Ukraine raped the whole country

Commenting on the news that Parubiy called on all Ukrainian forces to prevent the Russification of education, the journalist (Yelena Priven) emphasized that since they [authorities] have imposed a rural way of thinking on the country, they feel threatened by the Russian language … The fight against Russian in Ukraine is understandable and logical, and there will be no opposite movement in the foreseeable future. The Galician project in Ukraine, which raped the whole country, was imposed except the Crimea and Donbas. This project is transforming Ukraine into a farm.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukrainian language law and Russophobia. The law "on ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a state language" does not forbid the use of Russian or other languages in private communication and religious ceremonies. Moreover, Russian and other languages can be present in book publishing, the press, including radio and television, education, and the service sector. The law allows the use of other languages in the healthcare system and in law enforcement. Similar disinformation cases are here and here.

Disinfo: The United States is stopping Balkan Stream because of the political instability in Bulgaria

The current political instability in Bulgaria is the reason for the sanctions imposed by the US towards all companies involved in the construction of “Balkan Stream”.

Disproof

The sanctions that were declared on 15 July that the US will impose will be directed towards not only Turk Stream (referred by Michael Pompeo as “Balkan Stream”), but also Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines. The primary reason for the sanctions by the US is not related to the current political situation in Bulgaria. Rather, the US government views the current energy projects as beneficial only to Russia and the gas pipelines as one of Kremlin's main tools for exploiting and expanding Europe's dependence on Russian energy. Furthermore, as of the release of the article, there are no officially declared Bulgarian companies that are expected to be sanctioned due to the construction of the gas pipeline.