Disinfo: Polish decision to fine Gazprom for the Nord Stream 2 is directly connected to Navalny case

Summary

The astronomical fine in the amount of 29 billion Polish zlotys imposed on the Gazprom by the Polish anti-monopoly regulator UOKiK is incomprehensible not only to the Russian energy giant. There is no doubt that this event is directly connected to the new wave of deterioration of relations between Russia and the West on the background of the case of Alexei Navalny.

Disproof

There are no grounds for connecting the cause of Navalny’s poisoning with the construction of Nord Stream 2. A recent decision of the Polish Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) regarding Gazprom is not connected to the situation around Alexey Navalny, but to the refusal of Gazprom to cooperate with the Polish anti-monopoly investigation regarding Nord Stream 2. On October 3, the UOKiK presented its decision to fine Gazprom for 7.61 billion EUR for its failure to cooperate in the anti-trust investigation conducted in relation to the construction of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. The UOKiK investigation regarding Nord Stream 2 has been taking place since 2015, long before Navalny’s poisoning. A prominent Russian opposition figure, Alexey Navalny fell ill during an internal flight in Russia and the plane had to make an emergency landing in Omsk, where doctors said he was in a coma and they were trying to save his life. Since then he has been transferred to Berlin and is receiving treatment at Berlin’s Charite Hospital. The German federal government said that toxicological tests provided “unequivocal evidence of a chemical nerve agent of the Novichok group” in the blood samples of Alexei Navalny. The European Union condemned the poisoning of Alexei Navalny in the strongest possible terms. Read similar disinformation messages alleging that the West has an interest in the death of Navalny to launch a new wave of sanctions against Russia, that only traces of alcohol and caffeine were found in Navalny’s blood, that the West will falsely accuse Russia of poisoning Navalny, as with Skripal and Litvinenko or that US sends a message with Navalny poisoning: buy our LNG because we kill “only” black people.

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pl.sputniknews.com (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 215
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 09/10/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Polish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Poland, Germany, Russia
  • Keywords: novichok, gas, Nord Stream 2, Anti-Russian, Alexei Navalny, Sanctions, Conspiracy theory
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Now they [Kyiv] are carefully working and forming a group to send militants from Ukraine to Azerbaijan. This work is underway. Let’s see if it will be just talks or not. We saw that our jingoistic patriots were ready to fight with Russia, not directly, but by participating in some local conflicts.

Oct 08, 2020
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the recent escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Ukraine. There is no evidence that Ukraine prepares militants to take part in the current military escalation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denied the possibility of Ukraine providing military assistance to Azerbaijan or Armenia. Ukraine calls on the two countries to engage in dialogue and to de-escalate the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Ukrainian Ministry for Foreign Affairs has a similar position on events in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Disinfo: A strong external player is trying to create an "arc of instability" around Russia

There are hotbeds of tension throughout the post-Soviet space. We are talking about states that are not just Russia’s neighbours. These are countries that have partner relations with Russia. Many are again discussing the arc of instability, the State Department’s naphthalene plan to increase tensions on the Russian borders. A strong external player is trying to create a kind of “arc of instability” next to Russia.

Oct 08, 2020
Disproof

The article appeared in the context of the recent escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh which is a continuation of the decades-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. This conspiracy theory is hinting that the escalation of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the result of deliberate Western actions aimed at harming Russia and its interests. It, therefore, corresponds to recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the belligerent and hostile US and West and fits well into the disinformation narrative that presents virtually all protests, civil uprisings, or local conflicts as a consequence of the West's intentional actions. Read similar cases on "colour revolutions"; for example the claim that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favours US interests, someone wants to divert Russia from Belarus and Syria, that The escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan is directed against Russia, or that the US embassy in Armenia is a mini-Pentagon escalating tension in the region and the Middle East.

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The events in Kyrgyzstan are a continuation of the Western policy to work out the scenario of a “colour revolution” in Russia, scheduled for 2021. The upcoming elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation are speeding up the West’s preparation.

Oct 08, 2020
Disproof

Conspiracy theory, pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on Kyrgyzstan based on recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative that accuses the West of orchestrating "colour revolutions" in Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, and other states. The protests in Kyrgyzstan erupted to contest the results of the parliamentary elections that took place on 4 October, which are considered unfair by oppositional parties. As a result of the elections, none of the twelve established oppositional parties secured seats in the parliament. The parties declared they would not recognise the results of the vote. The President and the ruling parties were accused of vote-buying and voter intimidation. On 7 October, the electoral authorities annulled the election results. Pro-Kremlin media frequently use disinformation narratives falsely claiming popular protests around the world are incited and funded by the US and other Western states. It has been applied, among others, to protests in Ukraine, Venezuela, Georgia, and Belarus, as well as to present a deceiving narrative on the aggressive West constantly preparing new coups. See similar cases claiming that the protests in Belarus are a colour revolution conducted according to a Maidan scenario and that the West wants to prepare Maidan in Belarus.