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Disinfo: The supposed GRU agents arrested in the Netherlands were actually mere IT experts

Summary

In the Netherlands, the supposed GRU agents arrested outside the OPCW HQ were actually IT experts. They were checking the security of the Russian embassy’s communications, which had been bugged. That they were by the OPCW building is coincidence – the Russian embassy is just across the road.

Disproof

The Dutch authorities presented numerous evidence about the real identity of the GRU agents and the real purpose of their trip - like taxi receipts for the trip from the GRU building in Moscow to the airport, passport scans, and the specialist equipment which the GRU agents tried to destroy when they were caught. See e.g. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/04/netherlands-halted-russian-cyber-attack-on-chemical-weapons-body

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publication/media

ntv.ru (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 122
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 14/10/2018
  • Language/target audience: Russian
  • Country: The Netherlands
  • Keywords: GRU, Sergei Skripal

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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The GRU duo went to Czech Republic not to follow Skripal, but to track Novichok, which the Czechs used to have

Suspected poisoners Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov went to the Czech Republic when Skripal could have been there. The British say they were tracking him – but maybe they were tracking the Novichok nerve agent, which Porton Down and the Czechs had.

October 16, 2018
Disproof

The Czech government has refused the claims from Russian sources that it would have produced Novichok. The nerve agent produced in the country was not the same. Background: Anatoly Chepiga and Aleksandr Mishkin (alleged Ruslan Boshirov and Aleksandr Petrov) visited Czech Republic in 2014 when Skripal was there as well. "It looks like the Russians had a group of people that followed Skripal long before the attempt to assassinate him," the publicly funded Czech radio station quoted one source as saying. See the English rereading of the Czech Radio report here.

Russian TV exposed the lies of US special envoy for Ukraine

TV channel Russia 1 exposed the lies of U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Kurt Volker. He posted a picture of a woman allegedly shelled by “Donetsk People’s Republic”, whereas in fact she is shelled by Ukrainian army.

October 16, 2018
Disproof

In fact, Volker's tweet does not mention "shelling" launched by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. He says: "These are some of the many victims of Russia’s aggression in eastern Ukraine. We can stop the suffering if Russia was willing to choose ". The Russian journalist mistranslated the tweet when interviewing the old woman. Whereas it is not clear whose shelling had hit the woman's house, it is clear whose aggression caused the situation in Ukraine - which is confirmed by International Criminal Court, or PACE. The photo published by Volker is part of the photojournalist Paula Bronstein's project about the elderly from both sides of the line of demarcation: both in the occupied territories and those controlled Ukraine. Further debunking by Stop Fake: https://www.stopfake.org/fejk-kanal-rossiya-razoblachil-lozh-spetspredstavitelya-ssha-kurta-volkera/  

The proportion of people who want friendship between Russia and Ukraine remained the same over the past 10 years

The proportion of people who want friendship between Russia and Ukraine remained the same over the past 10 years. This is despite a campaign of anti-Russian propaganda in Ukraine and numerous infringements of Russian speakers’ rights which have been taking place since 2014. According to polls made by Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) and Russia’s independent Levada Center, 48% of Ukrainians now view Russia in a positive light, up from 37% last year. By contrast, 32% of Ukrainians view Russians negatively, down from 46% in 2017.

October 15, 2018
Disproof

Vladimir Paniotto, director general of KIIS, described RT’s analysis as a “strange mixture of real data with some fantasy,” adding he “couldn’t understood” where they had taken their figures from. "After [Russia’s annexation of] Crimea we had a dramatic drop of positive attitudes to Russia, from 85% in 2013 to 30% (in May 2015). In 2008, only 10% of Ukrainians wanted closed borders with Russia. In December 2014 [that figure was] 50% and now [it’s] about 40% (38%),” Paniotto said for Polygraph.info. Further debunking on Polygraph. UNGA Resolution 68/262, which condemned Russia's illegal actions in Ukraine, was supported by 100 United Nations member states. Only 10 states opposed it. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about Ukrainians widely supporting Russia.