DISINFO: Ukraine excluded offensive against Donbas only after Russia threatened to attack
SUMMARY
The government in Kyiv excluded the possibility of an offensive against Donbas only after Russia threatened to defend the Donbas uprising.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about war in Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine is not a civil conflict, where Ukraine is attacking Donbas, but a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014.
The situation was recently escalated by a one-sided Russian military build-up in eastern Ukraine. The foreign ministers of the G7 countries, including the High Representative/Vice-President of the EU called on Russia to cease its provocations and to immediately de-escalate tensions in line with its international obligations.
The Ukrainian Army emphasized the country's defence, not offensive capabilities in case of escalated aggression from pro-Kremlin forces.
See a similar disinformation case by pro-Kremlin media outlets in Hungary claiming that Ukraine is preparing for a "small and victorious war".