Disinfo: The EU is fed up with Ukraine, it invariably faces a civil war and complete disintegration

Summary

Ukraine, located between Russian gas-hungry Europe and Russia-supported Donbas, will inevitably become a confederation, i.e. will cease to exist. This process can be named “Putin’s effect.” The environment around Ukraine, created by Putin, is turning Ukraine into a political corpse. There is no good way for Ukraine – it will face a civil war and disintegration, in any case. As it happens in the history of empires, Ukraine choked on Donbas and will become covered in the blood that it spilled in Donbas. Ukraine was unable to disengage troops in Donbas. The continuation of war is a catastrophe both for Ukraine and Europe. This way Ukraine is pushed to a new Maidan when Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be overthrown by an anti-Kolomoyskiy group of people linked to US Democrats. After this sequence of events, Ukraine-EU relations will reach deadlock. Europe is already fed up with Ukraine. Zelenskyy is turning German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier into an idiot. Emmanuel Macron is pissed off. Donald Trump requests Zelenskyy to start negotiations with Vladimir Putin, to make concessions and to end a war with Russia which benefits the US Democrats. The Ukrainian conflict makes Trump unable to get Russian support in the US-China struggle. In fact, the West and its analysts forecast that if Ukraine fails to fulfil the ‘Normandy four’ agreements it will continue disintegrating and suffer from a civil war.

Disproof

This publication represents a mix of conspiracies and groundless allegations aimed to discredit Ukraine, claiming that the country is resigned to a bleak future, civil war, and imminent collapse. It is consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin narratives about Ukraine's disintegration and imminent collapse and war in Ukraine. It also gives a distorted view on the war in Ukraine, presenting Ukraine as imperialistic and the aggressior state towards Donbas, without mentioning the Russia-backed armed formations which violated Ukraine's territorial integrity. The war in eastern Ukraine is an act of aggression by the Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that Ukraine will disintegrate and fall prey to territorial claims of EU member states, that Ukraine is a failed state and will be split up, and that Ukraine will either be part of a Russian civilisation, or a decaying anti-Russia emanating terrorist threats.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 171
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 03/11/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron, West, Civil war, European Union, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Ukrainian disintegration, Donald Trump, Ukrainian statehood, Europe, Conspiracy theory, Euromaidan, Vladimir Putin, Donbas, Coup, War in Ukraine
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Disinfo: Poland is losing its independence

The Polish government is submissive not only to its main ally (or even a hegemon) – the United States but also to much smaller countries such as Israel. The evidence for this statement is the recent anti-Iranian conference in Warsaw, which was in reality organized by the USA and Israel. Polish independence is weakening, or it has already been completely liquidated.

Disproof

A common pro-Kremlin narrative on the “lost sovereignty” - in the case of Poland, this country is often presented as a “puppet-state” of the United States. The statement that Poland is submissive to the will of the United States or other countries (Israel) is a conspiracy theory. Poland is a sovereign state, which shapes its own foreign and domestic policies. The Middle East conference in Warsaw took place on February 13-14, 2019 - it was officially organized by Poland and the United States. This event united 43 official delegations (mainly, from the countries of the European Union, Middle East, Middle Asia and North Africa). The main official issues of this conference were terrorism and extremism, missile development and proliferation, maritime trade and security, and threats posed by proxy groups across the Middle East. Read similar cases alleging that Polish policy towards Ukraine is shaped by the Americans and that the US keeps Poland on an anti-Russian leash.

Disinfo: A ruthless US doesn't allow Argentina to put an end to hunger

The US responded to the newly elected president of Argentina with a threat. Alberto Fernández’s plan ‘Argentina without hunger’, which includes the renegotiation of the debt with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a strategy, found a ruthless answer from the US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin.

Disproof

This is a deliberate misinterpretation of Steven Mnuchin's statements, whose exact words were that Argentina had a commitment to the IMF and the US expected the new government to uphold it. However, he didn’t close the door to a renegotiation, only pointing out that if Argentina wanted this, they have to present a plan to the IMF for review, as with any other country. Besides, by directly linking Mnuchin’s alleged inflexibility to the hunger reduction programmes, this narrative tries to present the US as responsible for the suffering of the Argentinian people, in line with recurrent Russian disinformation about an evil US to be blamed for many of the world's problems, such as missile proliferation, Europe's disintegration, the promotion of coups and destabilisation all over the world (from Bolivia to Hong Kong, Russia, Syria, Venezuela or Hungary), the downing of Malaysian airlines flights, the sponsorship of religious destabilising movements and terrorism, the ignition of wars and the corruption of human rights.

Disinfo: Kyiv refuses to clear up its mines in Donbas

Ukraine is refusing to clear up mines in Donbas and therefore Finland will have to do it. After Kyiv refused to finance the clearing of mines left by Ukrainian soldiers, Finland has taken on the task.

Disproof

Another narrative attempting to portray Ukraine as a failing state. See recent EUvsDisinfo article Ukraine is attacked again. And again. Ukraine has never refused to clear mines in the Donbas war zone. Mine clearance is conducted simultaneously by Ukraine’s Armed Forces, the State Special Transport Service and the Emergency Situation Service. In addition, since 2016 several international organisations have been helping with mine clearance in Ukraine such as the Halo Trust, the Danish Demining Group, and the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action. In 2005, Ukraine became a signatory to the Ottawa Convention or the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty and since 2012 has continued to dispose of prohibited explosive devices. In January 2019, a new law on mine safety and clearance came into force. The law states that anti-mine and clearance programmes will be financed through the state budget along with donor funds. Finland’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that they are ready to allocate 600,000 euros for mine clearing in Donbas. In addition to Finland, over the last year Great Britain, Germany, NATO and others have provided financial assistance for mine clearing programs in Ukraine. Debunk by StopFake.