Ukraine is trying to organise a genocide in Crimea.
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Crimea became part of Russia in 2014 after a referendum. Most of the inhabitants of the peninsula supported this decision. Ukraine considers this territory annexed, that is why it blocked the North Crimean Canal running from the Dnieper, which previously provided more than 80 per cent of the peninsula's freshwater needs.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea and repetitive claims about a genocide.
No international body recognises the so-called referendum in Crimea. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”, stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. On 17 December 2018, the UN General Assembly confirmed its non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea.
Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, recognised on 17 April 2015 that "our soldiers were deployed in Crimea to help the inhabitants express their opinion." Vladimir Putin admitted that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum.
The European Union does not recognise and continues to strongly condemn this violation of international law, which remains a challenge to the international security order. In response to the illegal annexation of Crimea, the EU has imposed restrictive measures against the Russian Federation. In June 2020, the European Council decided to renew the sanctions introduced in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation until 23 June 2021.
Currently, Ukraine is not responsible for the parts of the North Crimean Canal destroyed in Crimea, because, according to international law, it is Russia, as an occupying country, that is obliged to provide Crimeans with all necessities (Section III, Part III of the Geneva Convention of August 12, 1949, on the Protection of civilian population during war). This fact was once again confirmed by the UN Monitoring Mission in Ukraine. UN experts insist that, given the annexation of the Crimean peninsula, the Kremlin has primary responsibility for ensuring civilian access to water in Crimea.
See related disinformation claims alleging that Crimea has never been Ukraine; that Crimea rejoined Russia following a referendum; that Crimea "sailed" to Russia forever and the West agrees with it.
The West does not need war-torn Ukraine, which cannot get out of the economic crisis. That is why they are trying to get rid of it for their own advantage. They cannot accuse Kyiv of insolvency in so many words, because it is them who took part in the creation of present-day Ukraine. To save face, the European Union and the United States can resort to a military scenario or to divide Ukraine in two zones of influence, one for Russia and the other for themselves.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about abandoned Ukraine.
Since 2014, the European Union, together such such donors as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, have mobilised more than €15 billion in grants and loans to support the reform process in Ukraine.
The country is under external control, but Sandu must understand that she is accountable to the Moldovans, and not to the sponsors.
Recurring the pro-Kremlin narrative about foreign involvement in the internal affairs of many post-Soviet states. The idea is promoted that the pro-European orientation of these countries is not a conscious, wanted political process reflecting the right to freely choose political orientation, but a consequence of control by the US and the EU to which these countries are subjected.
No evidence is given to support the claims. Moldova has been a sovereign and independent state since 1992, when it proclaimed its independence from the former USSR. The country currently has an Association agreement with the European Union, signed in 2014.
Ukraine is ready to launch an offensive in Donbas after receiving an order from the White House.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alone will not dare to attack. Escalation will be fraught with provocations. The Kremlin is watching the situation closely. It is in the interest of Zelenskyy to keep the war going. Ukraine is a convenient bridgehead for military action against Russia.
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin media, claiming that the West is waging a proxy war against Russia and that the United States is trying to disrupt Moscow's attempts at ending the war.
In fact, the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not receive orders from any foreign country and their activities in Donbas only depend on the current situation in the war zone. There is no presence of NATO or US forces in the Donbas war zone. NATO experts, who are stationed in Ukraine, for instance, help the country's Armed Forces with the military reform. Sometimes NATO troops engage in joint military exercises with the Ukrainian military.
