Disinfo: Russia is not a party to the conflict and is not interested in a conflict with Ukraine

Summary

Russia is not a party to the conflict and is not interested in a conflict with Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated that Russia is not a party to the conflict and is not interested in a conflict with Ukraine, especially a military conflict. Moscow hopes that Ukraine will ‘show prudence and not take any steps that could provoke a conflict.’

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine.

There is irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in eastern 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".

Also, according to the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Russian special forces and troops operated to mobilise, lead, equip, and support separatist militias in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine from spring 2014 to the present, although their presence was denied by Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Russia's military presence in Ukraine in 2015.

Recently, since end of March / early April 2021, Russia has started to send troops to the Ukrainian border and increased bellicose language in key Russian state media. The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has expressed 'severe concern' over Russian military activity near Ukraine's border.

See also the Statement of 12 April by the G7 Foreign Ministers and the EU High Representative here. It addresses the "large-scale troop movements, without prior notification, represent threatening and destabilising activities. We call on Russia to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations."

Read more similar disinformation cases alleging that Crimea reunited with Russia after a referendum and Russia is not part of the conflict in Ukraine, that Russia is not a party of the conflict in Ukraine at all and that Russia is not a party of Minsk Agreements and the internal Ukrainian conflict.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 239
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 06/04/2021
  • Article language(s) German
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, Ukraine, EU
  • Keywords: War in Ukraine, Donbas, Eastern Ukraine, Russian expansionism
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Disinfo: Black people in America are the target of an emerging police state

Black people in America are the target of an emerging police state that monitors people based on the colour of their skin and arrests black people whenever the opportunity arises. There are over 2.3 million people in US prisons, and most of them are coloured people. On the other hand, millions of White American Trump supporters believe that they are victims of a left-wing coup d’état, and this has led to revolts after Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential elections. This enormous split in American society could lead to a new wave of non-structural and structural violence across the USA.

Disproof

The messages in this article fit into two recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives, one seeking to discredit liberal democracy and Western institutions by alleging that Western societies are becoming authoritarian police states, and the other claiming that massive and violent domestic conflict and civil war in socially divided America is imminent.

It is not true that America has or is about to become a police state that monitors people and arrests them based on the colour of their skin. In the US Constitution, the civil and legal rights of black and minority citizens are guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments, which the Civil Rights Act of 1964 enforces.

Disinfo: Russia poses zero threat to other countries, including Ukraine

Reports of Russian military buildup near the Ukrainian border are no cause for alarm, given that Russia does not pose any threat to Ukraine or any other country.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative falsely casting Russia as a benign, non-aggressive state.

Russia's army manoeuvres are indeed a cause for concern, particularly given the recent flare-up of armed hostilities between Ukraine and the Russia-backed militants in the occupied Donbas. See here for detailed debunking by POLYGRAPH.info.

Disinfo: US needs a war in Ukraine to stop Nord Stream 2 pipeline

The American-Polish plan of torpedoing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline failed. [...]

In maximum 6 months the Nord Stream 2 will be completed. The US is categorically opposed to it, thus it needs war, which would lead not only to the funeral of the Nord Stream 2 but also lead to dependence of Europe on expensive American liquified natural gas. [In that case] Poland will fullfil the role of the hub distributing the American gas to other European countries.

This is the price and purpose of what we are observing today. And in this situation we mustn't be shy, we must show our fist!

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and war in Ukraine.

The United States sees the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a Russian geopolitical project intended to divide Europe and weaken European energy security. However there is no basis to the claims that it seeks to ignite war in Ukraine to stop it.