DISINFO: Ukraine is planning to attack Donbas
SUMMARY
In fact, there are a lot of signs that if a peaceful settlement does not go according to our plan, then Ukraine will take certain actions by the end of the year (we are talking about the large-scale offensive of the Armed Forces expected by experts in the Donbas.) The purchase of a large batch of weapons (from the US) corresponds to these threats.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine. There is no evidence that Ukraine plans to attack the territorial parts of Donbas that are not controlled by Kyiv. It is a fact that the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Volodymyr Yelchenko, announced the intention to buy weapons from the US. According to him, such a measure is necessary for the protection of Ukraine. However, he did not mention any plans to attack Donbas. President Zelenskyy has been stressing on numerous occasions that his main strategic goal and first and foremost task as Ukraine's president, is to achieve a peaceful settlement of the war in Donbas as soon as possible. On 13 October 2019, he underlined that “ending the war in Donbas” is a priority for the Ukrainian government. To accomplish this task, Ukraine has fulfilled all preparatory steps, such as the withdrawal of troops on three sites, necessary to hold the meeting in the “Normandy format”. Moreover, in September, Ukraine and Russia conducted the prisoner swap and agreed to exchange all prisoners soon. Ukraine had also agreed to sign the so-called Steinmeier formula which was again confirmed by President Zelenskyy on the “Normandy Four” summit.