Disinfo: Ukraine was reluctant to achieve peace in Donbas

Summary

Over the last five years, the conflict [in Donbas] has not been resolved not because of the position of the “DPR” and “LPR”, but because of Kyiv’s reluctance to achieve a peaceful settlement.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the Minsk agreements and the War in Ukraine. Former and current presidents of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have made it clear that the strategic goal of Ukraine is to achieve peace in Donbas in the shortest possible term. Over the last five years, the Ukrainian government has tried to achieve the complete ceasefire via negotiations in the Minsk and Normandy formats. Ukraine has also proposed to send peacekeeping forces to Donbas. On 13 October 2019, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy underlined that “ending the war in Donbas” was a priority for the Ukrainian government. Moreover, recently Ukraine has fulfilled all preparatory steps, such as the withdrawal of troops on three sites, necessary to hold the meeting in the “Normandy format”, scheduled for 9 December 2019.

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russian.rt.com (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 175
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 30/11/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine
  • Keywords: Eastern Ukraine, Minsk agreements, War in Ukraine
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Disinfo: Russia has nothing to do with Donbas conflict

As for the conflict in Donbas, Russia has repeatedly asserted that it is not a part of it, blaming the Ukrainian authorities for the continuing clashes in the region.

Nov 29, 2019
Disproof

One of the most common disinformation narratives about the "conflict" in Donbas, claiming that Russia has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. See a similar case denying Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

There is irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in Eastern Ukraine. The EU has condemned the clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since February 2014.

Disinfo: Ukraine broke the Minsk agreements by allowing the National Police on the contact line

Ukraine knows that it can’t allow the National Police to be on the line of contact [in Donbas]. It violates the agreements. And Ukraine broke the agreement before the Normandy Format meeting.

Nov 29, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Minsk agreements, portraying Ukraine as the only violator of the agreements. See previous cases about the Minsk agreements and the war in Ukraine. On 20 September 2016, the Framework Decision of Tripartite Contact Group on the Withdrawal of Forces was signed. The document listed violations such as the movement of forces and means on the contact line, shelling or placing mines on the contact line, etc. However, there is no mention of the use of the National Police for controlling order there. Ukrainian Defence Minister Andrii Zagorodniuk said in October 2019 that the condition of the withdrawal of forces and means is the fulfilment of the condition of observing the ceasefire regime at both sections of the contact line and the verification of the absence of fire should be carried out by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission. He also stated that the National Police will protect civilians on the contact line.

Disinfo: Euromaidan was a coup fomented by Victoria Nuland

Maidan was a coup fomented by Victoria Nuland.

Nov 29, 2019
Disproof

No supportive evidence is given to this recurrent conspiracy narrative on the coup in Ukraine in 2014, fomented by the West, Georges Soros or Victoria Nuland in person, often also portrayed as a "Nazi coup". There was no coup d'état in Ukraine. The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was the people's reaction by numerous segments of the Ukrainian population to former President Victor Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013. See other disinformation cases on Euromaidan and their debunks.