Disinfo: Zelenskyy is unable to make independent decisions and dances to the tune of the US

Summary

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is unable to make independent decisions and dances exclusively to the tune of the United States. If they give the command to attack Crimea or Donbas, Kyiv will do it without thinking about the damage to Ukraine. Moreover, both Zelenskyy and Biden now need a major military success. Donbas is a great place for this.

However, Washington is in any case in an advantageous position. This will allow once again to demonise Russia. The blame for the escalation of the conflict will unequivocally be put on Russia, which will cause a new wave of tough sanctions. Washington and Brussels will not figure out who fired the first shot, they have already decided everything.

Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine as a puppet country, claiming that Ukraine is the US' bridgehead f­­­or confrontation with Russia.

In fact, the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not receive orders from any foreign country and their activities in Donbas only depend on the current situation in the war zone. There is no presence of NATO or US forces in the Donbas war zone. NATO experts, who are stationed in Ukraine, for instance, help the country's Armed Forces with the military reform. Sometimes NATO troops engage in joint military exercises with the Ukrainian military.

While Moscow denies the fact that it provides the separatists with military equipment, Kyiv openly receives assistance from its partners. A $125 million military package of US aid for Ukraine was announced on 1 March 2021. Ukraine receives this assistance legally and in accordance with trade agreements.

Contrary to pro-Kremlin disinformation reports, it is rather the Moscow-backed separatists who are constantly breaking the truce, which results in more intensified military escalation in Donbas. Kyiv’s stance on the recent developments is that its troops are not going to attack the enemy unless there is a threat or attack by the enemy.

Ukraine is not preparing military provocations in Donbas. Kyiv has repeatedly stated that it is not interested in escalation and that it prefers a peaceful solution. Сontrary to Russian propagandist media reports, Kyiv is only bracing itself for possible provocations from the Moscow-backed separatists or direct Russian invasion. Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, General Ruslan Khmomchak, has said Russia had amassed 28 battalions near the borders. Reports issued daily by the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe are indicating a surge in hostilities over the past several days.

Read more disinformation cases about alleged American involvement in the Donbas war and about Ukraine allegedly being governed from abroad.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 239
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 06/04/2021
  • Article language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US, Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: Donbas, Volodymyr Zelensky, Sanctions, Military
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Disinfo: Black people in America are the target of an emerging police state

Black people in America are the target of an emerging police state that monitors people based on the colour of their skin and arrests black people whenever the opportunity arises. There are over 2.3 million people in US prisons, and most of them are coloured people. On the other hand, millions of White American Trump supporters believe that they are victims of a left-wing coup d’état, and this has led to revolts after Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential elections. This enormous split in American society could lead to a new wave of non-structural and structural violence across the USA.

Disproof

The messages in this article fit into two recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives, one seeking to discredit liberal democracy and Western institutions by alleging that Western societies are becoming authoritarian police states, and the other claiming that massive and violent domestic conflict and civil war in socially divided America is imminent.

It is not true that America has or is about to become a police state that monitors people and arrests them based on the colour of their skin. In the US Constitution, the civil and legal rights of black and minority citizens are guaranteed by the First and Fourteenth Amendments, which the Civil Rights Act of 1964 enforces.

Disinfo: Russia poses zero threat to other countries, including Ukraine

Reports of Russian military buildup near the Ukrainian border are no cause for alarm, given that Russia does not pose any threat to Ukraine or any other country.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative falsely casting Russia as a benign, non-aggressive state.

Russia's army manoeuvres are indeed a cause for concern, particularly given the recent flare-up of armed hostilities between Ukraine and the Russia-backed militants in the occupied Donbas. See here for detailed debunking by POLYGRAPH.info.

Disinfo: US needs a war in Ukraine to stop Nord Stream 2 pipeline

The American-Polish plan of torpedoing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline failed. [...]

In maximum 6 months the Nord Stream 2 will be completed. The US is categorically opposed to it, thus it needs war, which would lead not only to the funeral of the Nord Stream 2 but also lead to dependence of Europe on expensive American liquified natural gas. [In that case] Poland will fullfil the role of the hub distributing the American gas to other European countries.

This is the price and purpose of what we are observing today. And in this situation we mustn't be shy, we must show our fist!

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and war in Ukraine.

The United States sees the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a Russian geopolitical project intended to divide Europe and weaken European energy security. However there is no basis to the claims that it seeks to ignite war in Ukraine to stop it.