DISINFO: Ukraine ready for attack in Donbas at Washington’s nod
SUMMARY
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.
RESPONSE
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.
While Moscow denies the fact that it provides the separatists with military equipment, Kyiv openly receives assistance from its partners. A $125 million military package of US aid for Ukraine was announced on 1 March 2021. Ukraine receives this assistance legally and in accordance with trade agreements.
Contrary to pro-Kremlin disinformation reports, it is rather the Moscow-backed separatists who are constantly breaking the truce, which results in more intensified military escalation in Donbas. It is not in Kyiv’s interest to escalate the conflict. More than 13,000 have been killed in the hostilities, and the Donbas war is a heavy burden on the Ukrainian economy.
Ukraine is not preparing military provocations in Donbas. Kyiv has repeatedly stated that it is not interested in escalation and that it prefers a peaceful solution. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Minsk agreements are the only option to end the war in Donbas. At the same time, the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe registers almost daily violations of the truce in Donbas.
Read more disinformation cases about alleged American involvement in the Donbas war.