DISINFO: Russia does not threaten Ukraine or any other country

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about peaceful Russia that contains disinformation about the war in Ukraine.

Since 1991, Russia was involved in several international conflicts, including interventions in neighbouring states, such as Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014. Many international organizations condemned the Russian occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, see e.g. the OSCE statements here and here and the European Parliament's declaration.

It was also Russia that provoked the war in Ukraine. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stated that “the information available suggests that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This international armed conflict began at the latest on 26 February 2014 when the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government.

The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation". Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted military presence of Russia in Ukraine in 2015. In 2014 Russia also annexed a part of Ukrainian territory - Crimean peninsula. The so-called referendum on the peninsula was organised in a matter of weeks by a self-proclaimed Crimean leadership lacking democratic legitimacy and installed by armed Russian military personnel following the seizure of public buildings. The EU does not recognise it.

The United Nations General Assembly Resolution No. 68/262, adopted on 27 March 2014 and supported by 100 states, clearly says that Russia's actions in Crimea, as well as the referendum held in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, violate international law.