Disinfo: The West denies Russia's place at the common "European table"

Summary

The commemorative events on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II in Warsaw show that, even after the Charter of Paris of November 1990, no one wants an understanding with Russia because Russia is denied its rightful place at the common “European table”. (…) The way the event in Warsaw is organised betrays peace for Europe. Russia is not invited to Warsaw on 1 September 2019. Others are invited, although the American ambassador in Warsaw in 1939 did not pass on his knowledge of the Stalin-Hitler Pact to the Polish government. (…) They wanted the war under all circumstances, and yet they are invited prominently.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russophobia, about Western belligerence towards Russia and about the West's anti-Russian actions. Poland decided not to invite the Russian delegation to WWII commemoration ceremony because of Russian aggression against Ukraine. Krzysztof Szczerski, the chief advisor to the Polish president, stated in March 2019 that the anniversary ceremony will be held “in the company of countries with whom Poland now cooperates closely for peace, based on the respect for international law, for the sovereignty of nations and of their territories.” The West does not deny Russia's place at the "European table", but tries to keep open channels of communications and cooperation with Russia. For instance, the EU and its member states have maintained a clear policy of reaching out to Russian society and youth, mainly through the Erasmus+ student exchange programme and other people to people contacts, in line with five guiding principles of relations with Russia. NATO created cooperation bodies – the Permanent Joint Council and the NATO-Russia Council – to embody its relationship with Russia. It also invited Russia to cooperate on missile defence. For background, see EUvsDisinfo analysis "The “Russophobia” Myth: Appealing to the Lowest Feelings" here.

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Sputnik Germany (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 163
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 27/08/2019
  • Outlet language(s) German
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Poland, US, Russia
  • Keywords: World War 2, West, Anti-Russian, WWII, Russophobia
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Disinfo: The President of Ukraine lacks genetic link to the Ukrainian nation

The current state of the Ukrainian state has been the laughingstock of the entire Europe and the tragedy for people living in this territory. Recently, the Kiev government has released a new batch of nationalistic fairy tales. “The desire for independence is embedded in our [Ukrainian] genetic code,” the Ukrainian President noted. It would be interesting to know what kind of ‘genetic links’ to the Ukrainian nation does the ethnically Jewish president have?

Aug 26, 2019
Disproof

This is an ad-hominem and anti-semitic attack on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Anti-Semitism is a recurring theme in pro-Kremlin disinformation efforts. More cases illustrating this use are available here and here. For similar cases attacking and seeking to discredit Zelenskyy, see here. Furthermore, the article also contains a recurring Kremlin-backed narrative questioning Ukraine's sovereignty and its standing in the system of international relations. It attempts to portray Ukraine as a failed state, which is a popular trope in pro-Kremlin disinformation, without providing any evidence to support its claims.

Disinfo: Zelenskyy is contradicting Ukrainian nationalistic propaganda

A part of Zelensky’s speech on the creation of the UN openly condradicts the official Ukrainian nationalistic propaganda. The Soviet Union was one of the founders of the United Nations. Three Soviet republics – the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic – became UN members representing the USSR in the organization. Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly claimed that the modern Ukraine has no historical and ideological links with the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

Aug 26, 2019
Disproof

A recurring Kremlin-backed narrative questioning the sovereignty of Ukraine. The Soviet Union plus the Soviet Republics of Belarus and Ukraine were represented in the United Nations since its beginning. This makes Ukraine one the first countries to sign the United Nations Charter: becoming a founding member of the United Nations. When Ukraine's independence was restored in 1991, the Republic of Ukraine inherited Soviet Ukraine's seat in the UN. No Ukrainian leader has questioned sovereign Ukraine's rights and obligations in the UN. Ukraine's official position of the continuity between Soviet Ukraine's seat in the UN and sovereign Ukraine's can be found here

Unlike the claim in the article, the Russian Soviet republic was never a member of the United Nation. The Russian Federation of today is the legal continuator of USSR in United Nations, thus retaining the USSR's position in the security council.

Disinfo: US sanctions against Russia over the Skripal poisoning are the result of conspiratorial pressure

The US decision to impose a second round of sanctions against Russia over the Skripal poisoning was the result of pressure by powerful forces in the US which are against the normalisation of relations with Russia for political domestic reasons, and because US elections are approaching, while Trump seeks instead to improve relations with Russia.

Aug 26, 2019
Disproof

Conspiracy theory; no evidence given. One of many recurring pro-Kremlin narratives about the Skripal poisoning claiming that allegations of Russian responsibility for the attack are fueled by Russophobia or by anti-Russian provocations and conspiracies. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on August 1, 2019 imposing a second set of sanctions against Moscow - as mandated by the 1991 Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act (CBW Act) - for its use of a Novichok nerve agent in an attempt to assassinate Sergey Skripal and his daughter. The United States imposed the first round of sanctions on Russia in August 2018, with a 90-day deadline for Russia to give "reliable assurance" that it would no longer use chemical weapons to escape a second round. The CBW act mandated the imposition of new sanctions within 90 days if Russia failed to give such reliable assurance. UK police and intelligence investigations have produced hard evidence of Russia's involvement in Skripal poisoning, sufficient to charge two Russian nationals – identified as officers of the Russian Military Intelligence (GRU) – for the attack on the Skripals. Furthermore, the UK investigation found that Sergey and Yuliya Skripal were poisoned using a specific Novichok nerve agent that cannot have been produced by non-state actors. This was confirmed by an independent OPCW [Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons] analysis. According to the UK intelligence assessment, based on open-source analysis and intelligence information, in the past decade Russia has produced and stockpiled small quantities of Novichok agents, long after it signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.