Disinfo: Sweden and Finland are being dragged into NATO and forced to wage a war against Russia

Summary

Upon joining NATO, Sweden and Finland will be forced to wage a war against Russia.

It is obvious that the two countries have been pressured to join the bloc, and neither country has consulted their respective publics on whether to join NATO or not. After all, no referendum has ever been held on the issue.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative painting NATO as an aggressive, anti-Russian alliance.

NATO is a defensive alliance, whose purpose is to protect its member states. NATO's exercises and military deployments are not directed against Russia or any other country. Each NATO member undertakes to uphold its principles and policies, including the commitment that “the Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia.”

Neither Finland nor Sweden have been under pressure to join NATO. The leaders of both countries have made it clear that the decision to apply for membership is a direct consequence of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, the chief aim of NATO membership is not to wage war on Russia, but to avoid it, with Finnish PM Sanna Marin calling Helsinki’s move “an act of peace” designed to ensure that “there would never again be a war in Finland.”

In both Finland and Sweden there is overwhelmingly broadbased support across the political landscape which has also been manifested in the process in the parliaments: in Finland with 188 deputies voting for and only 8 against NATO membership application, Out of Sweden's eight parties, only two smaller left-leaning parties oppose the application for membership.

Lastly, each country explained its decision not to resolve the issue of NATO membership via a national referendum. Swedish PM Magdalena Andersson has argued that issues of national security and confidentiality could prevent the Swedish public from making an informed choice:

"There is a lot of information about national security that is confidential, so there are important issues in such a referendum that cannot be discussed and important facts that cannot be put on the table."

On his part, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said a nationwide vote on the issue was "no longer necessary" given the overwhelming public support for joining the bloc. Indeed, an opinion poll conducted in early May 2022 saw over three quarters of Finns in favour of NATO membership, whereas a mere 12% of respondents took the opposite view.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 290
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 15/05/2022
  • Article language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, Finland, Sweden, Ukraine
  • Keywords: NATO, EU/NATO enlargement, Anti-Russian, Russophobia, Encircling Russia
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Disinfo: The entry of Nazi Ukraine into the European Union would mean its collapse

If the European Union really accepts as a member this state (Ukraine), where the Nazi groups rule the ball and the Nazi ideology reigns, which is incompatible with European values, [it] will mean the end of the European Union.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Nazi Ukraine (this narrative served as one of the pretexts for the Russian invasion of Ukraine) and about the EU's alleged imminent collapse if Ukraine joins the Union.

The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been actively used by the pro-Kremlin outlets as one of the favorite tropes for years to denigrate Ukraine.

Disinfo: Sweden, Finland join NATO which wants to destroy Russia; it can lead to their destruction

Sweden and Finland join NATO which wants to destroy Russia. Russia wants to destroy them in response. Deployment of NATO troops in Finland and Sweden will make them a possible target of the Russian military. The US may unleash a third world war with the use of nuclear arms.

Disproof

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets about Finland and Sweden’s membership application of NATO.

In reality, NATO does not aim to destroy Russia. NATO is a defensive alliance, whose primary aims are to maintain peace and safeguard the independence, security and territorial integrity of its member states. Every country that joins NATO undertakes to uphold its principles and policies, which include the commitment that "NATO does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia”, as reaffirmed at the June 2021 Brussels Summit.

Disinfo: Ukraine's invasion of Donbas was inevitable

[Russia President Vladimir] Putin was right when he said that sanctions and everything we see right now before our eyes was inevitable. On February 22, two days before the outbreak of the war, Ukrainian President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy issued a decree on general mobilisation. This meant that Ukraine's invasion of the Donbas region became inevitable in a matter of only a few weeks. If Russia hadn't intervened, the fighting would have taken place in Donetsk and Luhansk, with hostilities on the part of the West.

Putin had to decide between two bitter options.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, trying to legitimise Russia’s invasion of the country. This narrative of claiming that Ukraine is responsible for the war is part of a campaign aiming to justify Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has been violating Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of armed aggression since 2014.