Disinfo: The 2014 Crimean Referendum was used to reduce Poland to a role of a vassal

Summary

What was the Crimean referendum for Poland? It would probably have not had any impact on the situation in this country. It is even possible to say that the reduction of the size of the territory of chaos in a neighbouring state would be beneficial for Poland. From the point of view of Warsaw, the Crimean events of March 2014 were neutral. Although, they have become the reason for unleashing unprecedented anti-Russian hysteria in this country. The Crimean events resulted in the influx of thousands of foreign soldiers to Poland, reducing this country to a humiliating role of a vassal of foreign interests.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about “lost sovereignty”. Poland is often presented as a “puppet-state”, "colony" or a vassal of the United States, Germany, Israel or the EU. This narrative includes a message that the USA manipulates Poland in order to promote its anti-Russian policies in the region.

The claim that the Crimean Referendum was used in order to turn Poland into a “vassal” and to deploy thousands of foreign soldiers to this country is unfounded.

The Russian annexation of Crimea has caused the largest security crisis in Europe in decades. The main current Russia-related concerns of Poland are a result of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Russia's armed military aggression in Ukraine. The Polish government shows its full support for solving the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the complete restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Poland worked actively for the deployment of NATO troops as it increases the security of Poland – two-thirds of the Poles have a positive opinion about NATO's activities.

See other messages promoting the statement that Poland is not a sovereign statePoland and Ukraine have a “slave syndrome” towards Russia, trying to harm their former master and The Polish Government denies the political will of the population of Crimea.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 237
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17/03/2021
  • Article language(s) Polish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Poland, Russia, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Crimea, Manipulated elections/referendum, Anti-Russian, US presence in Europe, Puppets, Russophobia, NATO
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Disinfo: Western countries lie about Ghouta

The UN final report on what is known as the Ghouta massacre on August 21, 2013 does not reveal its perpetrator.

In addition, a MIT study from February 2014 explains that the attack was launched from a so-called rebel area.

This is not to say that Bashar El Assad did not perpetrate any chemical attack. This is to emphasise that once again, Western governments have lied to their people to bring down their enemies.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives attempting to cast doubt on who is responsible for the 2013 chemical attacks in Syria and questioning the integrity of Western governments by accusing them of lying systematically to the public to bring down countries that resist them.

The Ghouta attack was investigated by a UN Mission set up by the UN Secretary General, and its findings were contained in a report published in September 2013. The OPCW and the WHO played an important but auxiliary role throughout the process (ibid., p. 4).

Disinfo: Bellingcat reports do not contain evidence

The Bellingcat news agency has been registered in Higgins' name, and the latest "revealing" anti-Russian news is spread from this agency. However, these reports do not contain any evidence.

Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation attempting to discredit Bellingcat which has long been a thorn in the side of the Kremlin and recently presented proof that Alexei Navalny was poisoned by FSB agents. Alexei Navalny duped one of the FSB agents, Konstantin Kudryavtsev, into admitting his role in the poisoning and Bellingcat had already named him in its investigation as one of the FSB agents involved.

Ironically, no evidence is given to support the claims about a lack of evidence in Bellingcat’s reports. Bellingcat is an well-known independent group of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists which probes different subjects using open source and social media investigations. The team has won a lot of awards and prizes, for example, the European Press Prize for Investigation in 2019 and the London Press Club award for Digital Journalism in 2019 to name just a few.

Disinfo: Crimea returned to Russia after a referendum

Crimea returned to be a Russian federal province, after a referendum held on March 16, 2014, in Crimea and Sevastopol, and both regions have become within the Russian Federation, as of March 18, 2014.

Crimea was one of the Russian provinces up until the beginning of the fifties of the twentieth century when the authorities of the Union of Soviet Republics decided to transfer their subordination to the Republic of Ukraine.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea, claiming that Crimea voted to rejoin Russia through a legal referendum and painting the idea that Crimea has never belonged to Ukraine.

For historical reference, Crimea was annexed by Catherine II (the Great), then containing Ukraine in 1783, already in violation of a treaty that guaranteed the independence of the Tatar khanate.