Disinfo: Russia is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict

Summary

In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the self-proclaimed LPR and DPR, which declared independence after the coup d’etat in Ukraine in February of the same year. According to the latest UN data, about 13 thousand people became victims of the conflict. Kyiv has repeatedly accused the Russian Federation of intervening in the conflict in the region. Russia denies these charges. Moscow has stated more than once that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict and is interested in seeing Kyiv overcome the political and economic crisis.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, attempting to portray it as a civil war.

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".

At the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, 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.

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.

Go to search

publication/media

Ritm Evrazii
  • Reported in: Issue 224
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 06/12/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: DNR, Civil war, LNR, Coup, War in Ukraine
see more

Disinfo: Sputnik V is a target of a corporate Cold War

Political, economic and even geopolitical issues play an important role in the “vaccine race” concerning COVID-19. The West and more specifically NATO governments and their satellites seem to be doing their best to exclude Sputnik V reaching Western markets and they are preventing health organisations such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to evaluate the Russian vaccine, although EMA has already started contacts with the Russian institution that produced Sputnik V.

Dec 05, 2020
Disproof

The article is part of a pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign on the Russian coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V, launched after its announcement was met with scepticism and criticism, even by Russian specialists in the country.

However, evidence exists that it was Russia which has at all times perceived the development of a coronavirus vaccine mainly in terms of geopolitical and economic gain.

Disinfo: Belarusian opposition and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya are puppets of the West

If the Belarusian opposition together with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya come to power, they will develop an anti-Russian agenda. They do not want to keep the union with Russia. It shows the rhetoric and persons that stand behind them. They are puppets of the West.

Dec 05, 2020
Disproof

Recurrent disinformation narrative against Belarusian opposition member Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya and the Belarusian opposition powers in general.

Kremlin propaganda tries to present events in Belarus as anti-Russian. See similar examples here, here and here. On top, representatives of the Belarusian opposition are portraited as puppets of the West. Similarly, events in Belarus, where people are protesting against Alexander Lukashenko and falsified results of elections, are presented as a coup d’état supported by Poland (see example), Lithuania (see example), the US (see example) etc.

Disinfo: NATO strengthens its power near the border with peaceful Russia

NATO strengthens its power near the border with Russia. Alliance justify it by “Russian threat”. The Baltic states – for example, Lithuania – made hight-costs defence contracts with the US, explaining it by the threat of “Russian aggression”. The Baltic states deploy the military contingents of NATO on their territory.

Moscow many times said that it will not assault any country, and the Western alliance knows it.

Dec 05, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative, portraying NATO as an aggressor.

NATO suspended practical cooperation with Russia in 2014, because of Russia's actions against Ukraine, including the illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea. NATO has a dual track approach to Russia: strong deterrence and defence, including through the Enhanced Forward Presence in Poland and the Baltic States, and meaningful dialogue. Learn more about NATO-Russia relations here.