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Disinfo: Relations between Russia and the West deteriorated due to civil war in Ukraine

Summary

The formal reason for the sharp deterioration in relations between Russia and the West was the situation around Ukraine, where, after the 2014 coup, a civil war broke out. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of allegedly participating in a conflict in the east of the country. However, the Russian Federation has consistently emphasised the groundlessness of such rhetoric, since Russia is not a subject, but a guarantor of the Minsk agreements, the task of which is to resolve the conflict in the Donbas.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, and Euromaidan protests. It was not Ukraine, but Russia which illegally annexed Crimea and continues violating Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. This led to sanctions and a deterioration in relations between Russia and other countries. The onset of the Euromaidan protests which began in Kyiv in November 2013 – called "Maidan", or "Euromaidan" – were a result of the Ukrainian people's frustration with former President Yanukovych's last minute U-turn when, after seven years of negotiation, he refused to sign the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement and halted progress towards Ukraine's closer relationship with the EU as a result of Russian pressure. The protesters' demands included constitutional reform, a stronger role for parliament, formation of a government of national unity, an end to corruption, early presidential elections and an end to violence. See some more recent debunks of this claim here and here. See a similar case denying Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine here. The EU and the US have condemned the clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since February 2014.

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RT Russia (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 167
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 02/10/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: Ukraine, West, Civil war, Coup, War in Ukraine
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Belarus proved the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant is safe

Lithuanian politicians regularly protest against the construction of the Nuclear Power Plant [in Belarus]. Despite the proof from the Belarusian side that the power station is safe and complete transparency about the matter of its functioning, Lithuanian parliament even discussed the possibility to ban the energy import from the Belarusian NPP.

Oct 01, 2019
Disproof

A recurring Kremlin-backed narrative concerning the construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant (NPP) in Astravets. Lithuania opposes construction of the Astravets Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) as the project does not comply with the international standards of environmental protection and nuclear safety, and is built on the site that was not duly justified over the alternative ones. Serious concerns about the safety of the Astravets Nuclear Power Plant remain. On 7 June 2011, Lithuania lodged a complaint with the Implementing Committee of the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment (the Espoo Convention) on the Astravets nuclear power plant case. In February 2019 the Meeting of the Parties of the Espoo Convention adopted the decision, which acknowledged that Belarus had failed to comply with some Convention provisions regarding site selection and encouraged Belarus and Lithuania to continue bilateral expert consultations. In August 2019 the Pre-Operational Safety Review Team (Pre-OSART) from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) made several recommendations aimed at strengthening operational safety in a timely manner to assure operational readiness and promised to submit the final report to the Belarusian Government within three months. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that Lithuania fights against Belarusian NPP on the orders of Sweden and Finland, Dalia Grybauskaitė's opposition to the NPP is an attempt to hide Lithuania's own failures in nuclear power, that the "Chernobyl" series aimed to discredit the Belarusian power plant and Belarus-Russia relations and that Western-financed environmental NGOs in Belarus stage a big campaign against Rosatom and Russia.

The US has turned Ukraine into a puppet

Ukraine is an American project. They made their own puppet out of Ukraine, to use it how it goes.

Oct 01, 2019
Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative, challenging Ukrainian statehood. For example, pro-Kremlin media has claimed that Ukraine has become a vassal of Germany and Ukraine is under US control. Ukraine is a sovereign state. Neither the US nor the EU countries control Ukraine. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by most of the free world but were violated by Russia in 2014. The relations between the US and Ukraine are bilateral relations between two independent countries. The US recognised Ukraine as an independent state on 25 December 1991. US policy is centred on realising and strengthening a stable, democratic, prosperous, and free Ukraine, more closely integrated into Europe and Euro-Atlantic structures.

The rotting capitalist West doesn't want to lend to the Ukrainian government

The IMF mission summed up the disappointing results of two-weeks work in Ukraine. The new IMF lending program to Ukraine has not yet been approved, because no one in the world, especially in the rotting capitalist West, wants to lend to the Ukrainian government. The official reasons for refusing a three-year loan are corruption, oligarchs and low economic growth rates.

Oct 01, 2019
Disproof

A recurring disinformation narrative the West and Ukraine.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission visited Kyiv during 12-26 September, to hold discussions for the 2019 Article IV consultation with Ukraine. The mission also initiated discussions on a new programme that could be supported under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF).