Disinfo: Ukraine lost all its friends

Summary

Kyiv's destructive foreign policy has led to Ukraine losing all of its neighbouring friends.

Disproof

The claim above is part of a wider pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that is aimed to prove that Ukraine is a country that is abandoned by the international community.

While the disinformation claim alleges that Kyiv has essentially alienated all of its neighbours, Ukraine maintains friendly and allied relations with most of the countries neighbouring Ukraine in Europe. Poland, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia are among the closest partners of Kyiv, with all countries repeatedly expressing support for Ukraine in the wake of the still ongoing Russian aggression. Undeniably, tensions between Kyiv and Minsk have worsened over the past year, but this is not due to Kyiv's foreign policy but the Belarusian government's crackdowns on the country's democratic opposition and the Minsk-initiated Ryanair kidnapping.

Ukraine being abandoned by the international community is a frequent element of disinformation from pro-Kremlin media outlets. Explore a similar case here.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 262
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 30/09/2021
  • Article language(s) Hungarian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine
  • Keywords: Ryanair Flight 4978, Abandoned Ukraine, War in Ukraine
see more

Disinfo: RT DE was removed from YouTube with the explicit and covert collaboration of the German authorities

The accounts of two RT Group media operators - 'RT DE' and 'the Missing Part' - have been deleted without the right to recover. [...] There is no doubt that such unauthorised actions against the media project were done with the explicit and covert collaboration of the German authorities and local media, which unhesitatingly and almost openly subjected correspondents of Russian channels to years of harassment.

Disproof

The claim frames YouTube's actions as motivated by censorship and anti-Russian sentiment, without ever mentioning the official reason why the two channels were disabled.

YouTube had issued a warning to RT, which is funded by the Russian state, for disseminating falsehoods about the coronavirus pandemic. It received a warning and was temporarily blocked for 7 days from uploading new content to the video-sharing platform. This decision was taken in accordance with YouTube's policy of tackling "COVID-19 misinformation," as laid out here.

Disinfo: Polish, Ukrainian spy agencies use mentally unstable Belarusians for terrorist attacks

Polish and Ukrainian secret services were searching for mentality unstable people and luring them into destructive sects in order to prepare them for different forms of anti-state terror.

Disproof

Disinformation about Belarus and secret services.

This is an unsubstantiated claim. There is no evidence that Polish or Ukrainian secret services employ mentally unstable people in Belarus for terrorist attacks against the state.

Disinfo: Crimea rejoined Russia as a result of a popular referendum

Crimea became a Russian territory following the March 2014 referendum, in which a majority of the peninsula's inhabitants voted in favour of rejoining Russia.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea.

No international body recognises the so-called referendum, announced on 27 February and held less than three weeks later. On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in which it stated 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.