Disinfo: Zelenskyy intimidates Crimean civilians by terrorist attacks

Summary

It is odd that Ukraine is seeking some security guarantees while actively carrying out terrorism in Crimea. These are subversive activities. Zelenskyy has openly threatened Russian residents in Crimea that terrorist attacks could happen at any time.

Disproof

Some links may contain graphic content.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets accusing Ukraine of war crimes and aiming to deflect attention away from the actions of the Russian army. The claim was made in the context of the Russian unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

In reality, Ukraine is using high-precision Western weapons to strike Russian military targets in Ukrainian territory without affecting civilians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a news conference in August 2022 that Ukraine is not striking the civilian population. In another video address, Zelensky called on Crimean civilians to keep away from Russian military facilities on the illegally annexed Ukrainian peninsula. This call was made to minimise the number of accidental victims among civilians. It was a warning to the Russian military in Crimea that Ukraine would hit their bases, rather than an intimidation of Crimean civilians. Crimea is an internationally recognised Ukrainian territory where Kyiv may hit any Russian military facilities. Such objects can be legitimate targets of Ukrainian strikes.

It is Russian troops who are resorting to acts of terror in Ukraine, striking civilian facilities to wreak havoc and intimidate civilians. Russian soldiers have committed numerous war crimes in Bucha and Irpin outside Kyiv, in Mariupol and in the recently liberated areas of Kharkiv Oblast. Russian forces are also blackmailing the whole world by shelling the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power station while accusing Ukraine of it. EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities around the power plant and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.

Read more disinformation cases about Russia's unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine, particularly Russian allegations that Ukrainian troops are committing war crimes.

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all-make.net [from 02:17:00 to 02:17:17] [from 02:17:00 to 02:17:17] (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 309
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17/09/2022
  • Article language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
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Disinfo: The Pope called the West the graveyard of humanity

The Pope called the West the graveyard of mankind, pointing out its false path.

The West cannot be called an "example to follow" because it has gone down the wrong path, Pope Francis said in an interview with Corriere della Sera. The West as a whole is currently not exemplary. The West has gone the wrong way, for example, in terms of social justice, said the Pope.

He called the West the biggest graveyard of mankind. The Pope pointed out Europe's demographic problems, stressing that under these conditions, Brussels is conducting a wrong migration policy.

Sep 16, 2022
Disproof

This is a deliberate distortion of the original article published by Corriere Della Serra on 15 September 2022. The Pope's words are taken out of context and presented as evidence of the terrible nature of the West.

The Pope indeed makes critical notes about the Migration policy of the Western countries, but he did not call the West the biggest cemetery of mankind. He says: "It is true that the West, in general, is not at the highest level of exemplarity at the moment... Think of the Mediterranean: it is in the West, and today it is the largest graveyard, not only in Europe: in the world."

Disinfo: Every third soldier under the Ukrainian banner is a NATO member state citizen

Every third soldier operating under the Ukrainian chevron during the Kharkiv operation is a citizen of a NATO member country. Also, the offensive operation itself was planned by the US military command.

The armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has definitively escalated into a military conflict between Russia and NATO, with unpredictable consequences for all parties to the conflict.

Sep 16, 2022
Disproof

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets claiming that NATO is directly involved in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine on the Ukrainian side. An attempt to justify the Russian military failures, downplay the role of the Ukrainian armed forces and present what is happening as a war with NATO.

"No, NATO is not at war with Russia," Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of the NATO Military Committee stated. "If Russia would attack one of our allies, then it is absolutely clear, and we make that as clear as we can to Russia, that we would defend every inch of allied territory. Then Russia and NATO will be in a conflict. But until that moment, NATO is not at war with Russia."

Disinfo: IAEA president is a product of the collective West

It should not be forgotten that the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) entered the Zaporizhzhia station not through Russian territory, but through Kyiv, where he shook hands with Zelenskyy and discussed his problems with him. Grossi, in this case, is a product of the collective West. All his public statements are in accordance with Western concepts.

Sep 16, 2022
Disproof

The claim that the IAEA President is a tool of the West is consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin claims attempting to discredit independent international organisations, especially those who monitor the implementation and respect of international treaties and instruments such as the OSCE, the OPCW, and now the IAEA. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an independent organisation of the UN family and includes 175 member states. Russia itself is a founding member of the IAEA as well as one of the earliest ratifiers of its Statute, and remains a member state until this day. It is also worth mentioning that Russia committed to facilitate the IAEA visit; a lack of facilitation from the Russian side, as an occupying force of the plant and the surrounding region, would make the visit of the IAEA delegation impossible.