DISINFO: Russia is not a part of the conflict in Donbas and cannot fulfil the Minsk agreements

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, claiming that Russia is not part of the conflict in Donbas and that Russia has nothing to do with the war in Eastern Ukraine. The Minsk agreements (the 2014 memorandum and 2015 plan of action) is the roadmap to the stabilisation of the situation in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk. It is true that both documents do not mention Russia as a side involved in the war, however, the documents do not mention the sides whatsoever. Still, the Minsk agreements do not define the conflict in Ukraine as "internal" but state clearly (paragraph 10) the need to withdraw “all foreign armed formations, military equipment, as well as mercenaries from the territory of Ukraine under the monitoring of the OSCE.” There is irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in Eastern Ukraine. The EU condemns the clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since February 2014. The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation". At the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014 and at successive summits since then, NATO leaders condemned Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine in the strongest terms and demanded that Russia stop and withdraw its forces from Ukraine and along the country’s border. NATO leaders also demanded that Russia complies with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities; end its illegitimate occupation of Crimea; refrain from aggressive actions against Ukraine; halt the flow of weapons, equipment, people and money across the border to the separatists; and stop fomenting tension along and across the Ukrainian border. The so-called People's republics DNR and LNR receive humanitarian, financial and military backing from Russia. An InformNapalm study shows that thirty-one weapons systems found in the Donbas entered service with the Russian military between 2004 and 2015 and have never been produced in, or sold to, Ukraine. In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Russia's military presence in Ukraine. Read similar narratives about Ukraine's role in the conflict and the Minsk Agreements.