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Disinfo: US officials loot their colonies including Ukraine

Summary

Appointment of Joe Biden’s son to the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma is a traditional example of US looting its colonies. At times, families of high-ranking US officials benefited not only from colonies but from Washington’s geopolitical opponents. Given the revenues that the American politicians received from the ruins of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukrainian economies, all those who believe in the US’s intention to fight corruption in foreign countries, are naive.

Disproof

Conspiracy theory consistent with a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine's sovereignty and US presence in Europe. The relations between the US and Ukraine are bilateral relations between two independent countries. The US recognised Ukraine as an independent state on 25 December 1991. US policy is focused on strengthening a stable, democratic, prosperous, and free Ukraine, more closely integrated into Europe and Euro-Atlantic structures. See earlier disinformation cases alleging that the US has turned Ukraine into a puppet, that colour revolutions are used by the West to intervene in the affairs of sovereign states and that the US State Department and US Embassy in Ukraine represent a system of “Gauleiter's".

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publication/media

Sputnik Belarus - Russian (Archived)
Ria Novosti (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 183
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 02/02/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Afghanistan, Iraq, US, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Imperialism/colonialism, Joe Biden, Corruption, Conspiracy theory
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Crimea never belonged to Ukraine

It is about time Kyiv abandoned its claims to the [Crimean] peninsula, which has never belonged to [Ukraine] either by law or spirit, and was always a foreign territory.

Feb 01, 2020
Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea.

According to international law, Crimea is a part of Ukraine. On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning Russia's occupation of Crimea and 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. By signing the 1997 Friendship Treaty, Russia also recognised that Crimea is an integral part of Ukraine. Russia violated international law as well as key principles of the European security framework by illegally annexing the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol in 2014.

Coronavirus is a US provocation against China

All this is against the Chinese. The American newspaper The New York Times was the first to report about the virus. How did they find it? The American Consulate General was evacuated immediately. What was the reason for such a rush? Usually, diplomats leave last. They stay in a time of war, but this time they left. The current situation is helping Trump to get the right trade agreement with China.

Feb 01, 2020
Disproof

Conspiracy theory and a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the China coronavirus.

In response to the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Chinese authorities have placed more than a dozen cities under quarantine. The World Health Organisation is working with Chinese authorities and global experts to learn more about the virus. The virus "2019-nCoV” comes from a family of viruses that include the common cold and viruses such as SARS and MERS. There is no evidence to suggest it was developed artificially as a weapon of mass destruction.

Coronavirus: A North American epidemic

There are strange “separate” incidents that targeted China from North America; the most prominent was the arrival of a shipment issued by Canadian biological laboratories in March 2019, which includes “malicious viruses.” It is noteworthy that this shipment was carried out under a veil of secrecy other than the usual procedures, which prompted the Chinese side to file a formal complaint. A large US military delegation, consisting of 300 people, arrived in Wuhan, in Hubei Province, China on October 19, 2019, to participate in a military games festival hosted by China and held there. On November 2, 2019, the first infection with the coronavirus was recorded in that province, and it spread rapidly throughout December. Scientifically, the incubation period for corona infection is 14 days.

Feb 01, 2020
Disproof

A number of conspiracy theories that are only linked by the fact that they are "separate" incidents, and echos some recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation especially about China coronavirus. The narratives also resemble a recurring conspiracy theory about the Lugar Lab in Georgia. The claims about Canadian involvement in the coronavirus spread appear to be based on a mischaracterization of August 2019 reports about a transfer of Ebola and Nipah viruses from a Canadian lab to Beijing, and an apparently separate issue involving two Chinese researchers at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) in Winnipeg, in the central province of Manitoba. Read further debunking by the AFP Fact Check.

As for the US participation in the Military World Games and its connection with the coronavirus, there is no evidence to prove this claim. There were 9,308 athletes from 109 countries that have registered to participate in 2019 Military World Games held between October 18-27. While the incubation period of 2019-nCoV, also known as coronavirus, is believed to vary from as few as 2 days to as long as 14 days after the exposure, according to the CDC. This is based on what has been seen previously as the incubation period of MERS viruses.