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Disinfo: Western media campaign supports the preparations of the US and NATO for nuclear war

Summary

There are some Western countries who actively support the US withdrawal from the INF Treaty in information space, Poland as the US lapdog, and some Baltic states. At the same time, many American analysts began discussing the hypothetical nuclear war between Russia, on the one hand, and the US and NATO, on the other. Nuclear war is presented by them as imminent. They calculate how many bombs will be needed for Moscow, Washington, New York, or St. Petersburg. The world is educated about the inevitability of nuclear war. Hence we see media covering the preparation of the US and NATO for a nuclear war. This is very worrisome given the Ukrainian situation, heated by the US.

Disproof

This is a conspiracy consistent with the recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about belligerent West aiming to conduct aggressive activities against Russia. When it comes to the conspiracy about NATO plans to wage a war against Russia, it was addressed by NATO's official website, which says that "any claims that NATO is preparing an attack on Russia are absurd."

Authoritative western media do not run coordinated campaigns and are not dictated by western political powers. A high degree of media freedom in Western countries is reflected in the top ranks that Western countries occupy in respective world rankings including World Press Freedom Index by Reporters without Borders.

See earlier disinformation cases claiming that the EU and US dream about waging a war against Russia from Belarusian territory, that the West always dreams of splitting Russia, and that Russian company Rosneft is an object of a Western defamatory campaign for its successes.

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publication/media

Sputnik Belarus - Russian [from 50 to 03:00] (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 166
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 23/09/2019
  • Language/target audience: Russian
  • Country: Russia, Ukraine, US
  • Keywords: WWIII, NATO, Conspiracy

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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The goal of the Crimea takeover was to save it from Donbas-like civil war

A big Russian civilisation concept envisages neither the change in the status of newly independent states nor the territorial expansion of Russia. Crimea accession to Russia was an exception, aimed to save the peninsula from imminent civil war following the Donbas scenario. As we can see, Kremlin does not intend to join South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Donetsk and Luhansk popular republics.

A big Russian civilization differs from European-Transatlantic one with its eclecticism when it comes to politics and values. Instead, the US and Europe rely on the totalitarian promotion of extended understanding of human rights to the detriment of traditional values. A big Russian civilization also differs from state-controlled Chinese civilization by its level of freedom and openness.

September 25, 2019
Disproof

This is a collection of narratives aimed to justify the illegal Crimea annexation, consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the illegal annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine. It also aims at portraying Russia as superior to the West in terms of values and morals, which is in line with the pro-Kremlin narrative about the West's moral decay.

Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea went contrary to Ukrainian and international law norms and Russia's aggressive actions in eastern Ukraine are well-established and thoroughly documented. See our earlier analyses of Ukraine-related disinformation and propaganda campaign: Denigrating Ukraine With Disinformation, and Ukraine Under Information Fire.

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact did not pave the way for the outbreak of the Second World War

The statement from MEPs that the Second World War began because of the signing of the Non-aggression Treaty between Germany and the USSR on 23 August 1939 has nothing to do with history.
September 24, 2019
Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about World War Two and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. It is a part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism and an attempt to portray Russia's role in World War II as non-aggressive.

The "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact" was accompanied by a secret supplementary protocol on the delimitation of areas of mutual interest in Eastern Europe. In particular, Hitler and Stalin agreed to divide Poland. The agreement also indicated that the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, as well as Bessarabia and Finland, also belonged to the respective areas of interest of Germany and the USSR. Just a week after the signing of the Pact, the German attack on Poland started World War II. Two weeks later, Soviet troops entered Polish territory.

The red Army Liberated Estonia, the Nazi army wanted to blow up Tallinn

The Red Army liberated Tallinn from fascists. After the liberation 75 objects with mines were discovered and 100 tonnes of explosives was removed. The fascists had placed mines in industry and government buildings, but also resident houses.

September 24, 2019
Disproof

The German’s alleged plan to blow up a number of buildings upon leaving Tallinn has not been proven.

Tallinn was not liberated but occupied: "On September 22, 1944, when the Red Army arrived in Tallinn, the Germans had already left the city. On 18. September, Otto Tief’s Republic of Estonia’s Constitutional Government, which had been formed by Prime Minister Jüri Uluots acting on behalf of the President was in force." That Estonian Government "affirmed the juridical continuation of the Republic of Estonia, and it showed that Estonia accepted neither the Soviet occupation nor the 3-year period of German occupation".