Disinfo: The West invented Navalny’s poisoning to uphold the myth of an aggressive Russia

Summary

The story of the alleged poisoning of opposition blogger Alexei Navalny with a chemical weapon was made up, and all this was attributed to Moscow. It was a fabrication to uphold the myth of an aggressive Russia. This story intends to permeate the public opinion in Western countries with alleged Russian aggression and leads political thought in a direction of Russia’s containment.

Disproof

This is part of a pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign on the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, aiming to deflect any responsibility of Russsian authorities for the incident.

Contrary to the claim, Alexei Navalny’s poisoning with a chemical weapon was not a Western fabrication, but a documented fact. There is unequivocal evidence proving that Navalny was poisoned in an assassination attempt, as established by initial clinical findings at the Charité hospital which indicated that he had been intoxicated with a substance from the group of cholinesterase inhibitors. Subsequent toxicological tests established the presence of a Novichok-type chemical nerve agent in Navalny's blood.

The European Union has sanctioned 6 individuals and one Russian entity over the use of chemical weapons in an assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny.

On 14 December 2020, a special investigation by Bellingcat, The Insider, CNN and Der Spiegel identified members of the Russian FSB unit involved in the attempt on Navalny’s life. According to The New York Times, the report was also consistent with the information on the case gathered by German intelligence services. Bellingcat also provided a detailed account of the methods used to identify the FSB operatives. A week later, on 21 December, Navalny disclosed a recorded conversation in which a member of the suspected FSB poisoning squad describes how his unit carried out, and attempted to clean up evidence of, the poisoning of Alexey Navalny.

See other examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives on Alexei Navalny’s poisoning in our database, such as claims that only caffeine and alcohol were found in his blood, that the US wanted to use it to block Russia's vaccine against coronavirus, that the West hopes that he dies to have an excuse for new sanctions, or that Western accusations on Navalny’s case are as false as they were about Sergei Skripal and Alexander Litvinenko.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 232
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 19/02/2021
  • Outlet language(s) Spanish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: EU, US, Russia
  • Keywords: novichok, false flag, West, Anti-Russian, Encircling Russia, Alexei Navalny, Chemical weapons/attack
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Disinfo: Kharkiv is Russian city, Ukrainians live under political repressions

Due to intimidation and political pressure, Ukrainians keep quiet. However, if political repressions are relaxed, it will turn out that Odesa did not forget anything and that Kharkiv is a Russian city.

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the Russian world/civilisation and Ukrainian disintegration. Kharkiv is a major cultural, educational, and industrial centre of Ukraine, the second-largest Ukrainian city. It was the first capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, from December 1919 to January 1934, after which the capital relocated to Kyiv.

Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by almost the whole world, including the EU -with the notable exception of Russia. Its borders are guaranteed by international agreements but were de facto violated by Russia in 2014. Contrary to the claim about political repressions in Ukraine and alleged intimidation to speak out, Ukraine does much better than Russia in global rankings of democratic freedoms and press freedom.

Disinfo: Ukraine has become a Western project after a military coup

Russia, of course, recognises the Ukrainian state, but the real Ukrainian state. The moment when a military coup took place with the complicity of several Western countries, it turned into a project for these Western countries.

Disproof

This is a longstanding pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine's Euromaidan protests depicting the 2013-14 revolution as a coup d'état, orchestrated by the Western countries.

Ever since the 1970s, the EU has adopted an independent role in global affairs, an identity based on peace and stability and the rule of law, in addition to pursuing a foreign policy premised on achieving peace for the world. Supporting democracy worldwide is a priority for the European Union, and allegations that protests around the world are incited and/or funded by Western states, such as colour revolutions in post-Soviet states, the Arab Spring revolts, Euromaidan in Ukraine, protests in Catalonia, is recurring disinformation presented without evidence.

Disinfo: Russia does not need to take part in the information war

The leading mass media of the world is controlled by American and European Special Forces. Russia is not losing the information war – Russia simply does not participate in it.

It is an uneven fight, and the West wages the war the wrong way. We also have those possibilities. Many journalists, who respect their professions look to us. It is not a coincidence that the members of the British parliament follows RT: they understand that non-biased journalists work there.

Disproof

It cannot be excluded that British parliamentarians occasionally view RT, but the claim on RT journalists being “un-biased” is not correct. The British media licensing body, OFCOM, deprived the RT broadcast rights, due to the outlet’s failure to abide to British licensing rules for impartial reporting.

The claim on Russia “not taking part in the information war” can also be challenged. The RT editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, has repeatedly claimed RT as a part of Russia’s efforts in an information war.