Disinfo: Russia has legally destroyed all of Novichok

Summary

Russia destroyed the stockpile of “Novichok” according to the rules of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is registered and proven according to the applicable system, and all statements indicating the opposite are misleading information.

Disproof

In September 2017, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed the full destruction of the 39,967 metric tons of chemical weapons possessed by Russia, but Novichoks were never declared to the OPCW and weren’t included in the Chemical Weapons Convention until 2019. This is part of a pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign on the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny after the use of a chemical nerve agent of the Novichok group was established beyond any doubt by a specialist Bundeswehr laboratory. The use of multiple and simultaneous versions about an event involving questionable actions by the Russian government or its allies, in order to confound citizens about the actual truth, is a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation strategy, already seen in the cases of the MH17 downing, the illegal annexation of Crimea, the murder attempt against Sergei and Yulia Skripal or chemical attacks in Syria. See other examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives on Alexei Navalny’s poisoning in our database, such as claims that only caffeine and alcohol were found in his blood, that the US wanted to use it to block Nord Stream 2 and Russia’s vaccine against coronavirus, that the West hopes that he dies to have an excuse for new sanctions, or that Western accusations about Navalny’s case are as false as they were about Sergei Skripal and Alexander Litvinenko.

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  • Reported in: Issue 213
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 23/09/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Arabic
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia
  • Keywords: novichok, OPCW, USSR, Chemical weapons/attack
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Disinfo: Ukraine finally becomes "Anti-Russia"

Ukraine finally becomes “Anti-Russia” On September 14, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved a new National Security Strategy. … it is entirely built on the idea of ​​a confrontation with Russia, in which its authors seriously expect to win. At the same time, the document is pathetically titled “Human security – the country’s security”, it seems to begin adequately: “A person, his life and health, honour and dignity, inviolability and security are the highest social value in Ukraine.” In relation to post-Maidan Ukraine, where human life has long lost any value, where there is a real civil war, it sounds like a mockery. But “seemingly adequate” ends there. Then the main thing begins – what, in general, the whole document comes down to – anti-Russian demagoguery.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that Ukraine is an anti-Russian, Russophobic state. Ukraine does not follow any anti-Russian agenda. Relations between Ukraine and Russia are defined by international agreements, including the UN Charter which requires states to respect the sovereignty of other states and the Friendship Treaty between the two countries. However, the relations severely deteriorated after the Russian illegal annexation of Crimea. Kremlin provoked and took part in military conflict in Donbas and the seizure of the Ukrainian ships in the Kerch strait in November 2018, that further undermined bilateral relations. The war in eastern Ukraine is not a West-driven civil conflict but a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014. The National Security Strategy of Ukraine is not Anti Russian document. It defines the main directions of state policy in national security, in particular: priorities of Ukraine's national interests and ensuring national security, goals and main directions of state policy in the field of national security; current and projected threats to national security and national interests of Ukraine, taking into account foreign policy and internal conditions. See similar cases: Ukraine is an anti-Russian and anti-European project of the US, that Ukraine is an anti-Russian project of the CIA, that Europe has always considered Ukraine an anti-Russian project, that Hatred of Russians is the meaning of Ukrainians’ existence.

Disinfo: European policy of interference in Belarus continues and deepens

Statements of non-interference [in Belarus] are often heard from representatives of Western states, but in fact, the policy of intervention continues and deepens. Europe has its own idea of non-interference in the affairs of sovereign states. When Europeans talk about the idea of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, it is about the fact that other countries should not interfere in their affairs and the affairs of those countries that are of interest to Europeans.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Belarus and the West. The protests in Belarus erupted to contest the results of the Presidential election in Belarus on the 9th of August, which are considered fraudulent by a large part of Belarusian society. The EU continues a step-by-step approach in its engagement with Belarus, supporting its civil society and victims of repression. The EU does not recognize the falsified results of Belarusian Presidential election on the 9th of August, 2020, nor the new mandate claimed by Aleksandr Lukashenko. See similar disinformation cases alleging that Russia has neutralised many Western attempts to topple the Belarusian government; the West pursues Maidan policy towards Belarus to encircle Russia.

Disinfo: NATO troops are illegally in Ukraine

Today NATO’s presence in Ukraine is not only illegal but contradicts the current Constitution of Ukraine. The Constitution is the most important law for any state! Were people of Ukraine asked if they wanted to be in NATO? They were just boldly deceived by a gang of swindlers who seized power in 2014 through a bloody coup d’etat.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine and NATO. The presence of foreign troops on the territory of Ukraine is regulated by the law “On the procedure for admission and conditions of the stay of units of the armed forces of other states on the territory of Ukraine” and other international treaties. According to the law, foreign troops can be on the territory of Ukraine in the following cases: general training, transit movement, military assistance at the request of Ukraine itself, and others. NATO and the US troops are in Ukraine in 2020 for the purpose of general military exercises. Such a law was signed in March by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.