Disinfo: The Donbas conflict has an internal character and originates in the unconstitutional coup d'état

Summary

Russia emphasises the internal political character of the Donbas conflict and points to its origins in the unconstitutional coup d'état in Kyiv and the subsequent installation of a nationalist regime.

Disproof

Two interconnected recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives are used in this piece. One about the war in Ukraine, claiming that Russia is not part of the conflict in Donbas, that Russia has nothing to do with the war in eastern Ukraine and presenting the conflict as a “civil war”, a war against its own people in Donbas. The other is about an alleged anti-constitutional coup in Ukraine in 2014; this is a longstanding pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine's Euromaidan protests.

The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was a reaction from several segments of the Ukrainian population to former President Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013, after pressure from Russia. See the full debunk: The Western-backed coup in Ukraine has torn the country asunder.

As for Russia's ‘role within the war in Ukraine, 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 in the strongest terms Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and demanded Russia to stop and withdraw its forces from Ukraine and from the country’s border. NATO leaders also demanded Russia comply with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities; 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.

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

See similar disinformation cases alleging that in 2014 coup Kyiv government carried out a war against its own people, Donbas rebelled because Russians in Ukraine were subjected to ethnocide, that after Euromaidan Ukraine lost its sovereignty and is falling apart, that the Euromaidan coup led to civil war in Donbas, or that Ukraine committed a crime by attacking its citizens in Donbas in 2014.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 241
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 19/04/2021
  • Article language(s) German
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: War in Ukraine, Donbas, Coup, Civil war, Euromaidan
see more

Disinfo: Expulsion of Russian diplomats from Czechia is aimed at discrediting the Sputnik V and “Rosatom”

May the expulsion of the Russian diplomats [from Czechia] be connected to the construction of a new energy block at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant? The [Czech] opposition and secret services stand against the participation of the Russian company “Rosatom” in this tender. This situation is an attempt to kill two birds with one stone, discrediting both the supplier of the Sputnik V vaccine and the “Rosatom”. That is why the anti-Russian campaign is being revived in order to reach these goals. Such developments as the Skripal poisoning and the Malaysian Boeing have one thing in common – neither of them was investigated and the sanctions were introduced with the violation of all principles of the civilized world. Unfortunately, we have become a part of a barbaric world.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative denying the participation of the Russian special services in the Vrbetice ammunition explosion in Czechia.

The claim that the decision of the Czech authorities to expel the Russian diplomats in protest against the Russian involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice explosion is an alleged Czech attempt to “discredit the Sputnik V and the “Rosatom” is a manipulation.

Disinfo: Warsaw is using the Polish minority in Belarus to serve geopolitical games of Washington

Warsaw periodically is using Polish national minorities for the realisation of topical geopolitical tasks linked to Washington's instructions.

In his famous book “The Great Chessboard” one of the creators of Washington's foreign policy Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote about the potential of the use of ethnic conflict in the post-Soviet area for destabilisation of Russia's near abroad.

It explains why Warsaw is riding the wave against the country, which is participating in the Eurasian integration. It is Polish input into the new Cold War. Warsaw is ready to fight against Moscow till the last Pole in Belarus.

Disproof

Recurring disinformation against Poland portraying this state as vassal and puppet of the US.

Throughout March 2021, the authoritarian authorities of Belarus arrested a number of representatives of the Polish minority living in Belarus under various fake accusations (such as “rehabilitation of Nazism” and “incitement to national hatred”). The list of arrested persons includes the leader of the Belarusian Union of Poles Anzhelika Borys, a journalist Andrzej Poczobut and several teachers from local Polish schools. Some of the arrested activists may be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison. Read more about the situation around arrested representatives of the Polish minority living in Belarus here.

Disinfo: Eastern Europe is used by Anglo-Saxons to isolate Russia

The so-called "New Europe", is the conglomerate of countries of Eastern Europe, which is nothing but a fief of the United States of America, and an American Trojan horse inside the European Union, and that "Europe" specifically is what the Anglo-Saxons use to isolate Russia.

Disproof

This is a mix of recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about lost sovereignty/external control, Western Russophobia and anti-Russian activities, and about the US presence in Europe.

Pro-Kremlin media often use the term “Anglo-Saxons” to portray the West as “evil”, “belligerent” and “morally corrupt” and to reinforce the idea that Russia belongs to a different civilization, as explained in our earlier analysis.