The main wave of disinformation narratives this week is unsurprisingly connected to the attack on Ukrainian ships near the Azov Sea. But let’s not rush straight into the examples. Instead, let’s filter them using the approach created by Ben Nimmo. According to him, Russian propaganda largely relies on four tactics: to distort, distract, dismiss and dismay.
The stories published by Russia Today have clear signs of distorting the facts as they state that “Ukrainian ships entered Russian waters in the Black Sea illegally” while in reality the bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine governs the use of the Kerch strait and the Sea of Azov, which is considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine.
Russian media also suggested that the incident was “a deliberate provocation by the Ukrainian authorities” with an aim to “create a diplomatic row” that would lead to sanctions against Moscow being tightened. That is a bit peculiar, as the Ukrainian ships were moving “in accordance with the provisions of all effective multilateral and bilateral international treaties and navigation rules”, according to Ukraine. And the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) states that “All ships, including foreign warships, enjoy the right of “innocent passage” within another state’s territorial sea under international law.”
No ramming? But here is a video about it
The pro-Kremlin outlets have also been distracting the audience from the main issue – Russia shooting at Ukrainian boats and capturing the vessels and crews. Instead they target the president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko: “Washington incited Poroshenko to launch this “sea provocation” against Russia in order to “thwart the Putin -Trump meeting”” and “President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko uses the Kerch provocation for a coup d’état“. But in reality, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted a resolution scheduling the presidential elections for 31 March 2019.
Dismissing the critic has also found its place under the sun of Kremlin info-war. Claims were spread that the Russian ships have moved so far ahead “in their technological development” that they “do not use ramming as a tactic“. This quote proves again how important it is to read the news – just see this video about ramming.
But what about the fourth D in Ben Nimmo’s 4D approach? Well, of course dismay the audience is alive and kicking in pro-Kremlin media – there are numerous examples of disinformation messages about Ukraine known already since 2014 and they are still being used.
Attempts to pollute the German Twitter
Russian disinformation does not only rely on its own resources to spread its narratives about Ukraine. Twitter has been used so heavily that Russia Today and Sputnik are scoring more engagement than some of the German quality media combined.
Between Sunday and Tuesday, more than 10,000 German-language Tweets from 3,000 unique accounts mentioned Ukraine, almost all of them relating to the confrontation in the Sea of Azov. Despite the large overall number of tweeters, a small group of 30 accounts has been driving a significant share of the debate so far.
Those 30 accounts have been identified as promoting pro-Russian and/or far-right views and are most probably automated to a large extent. The accounts target the German twitter sphere with a mix of tailored false information, for example Sputnik Deutschland’s reports of Ukraine’s alleged “massive artillery fire” on residential areas in Donbas (70.000 Twitter impressions) or the story of the alleged “confession” of captured Ukrainian soldiers (150.000 Twitter impressions).
Meanwhile, if we look at the several official German accounts calling for a “political solution” –– their Twitter activity hardly resonates.
False attribution of a statement. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about the Azov sea and Ukraine.
After the European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted that he condemned Russia's use of force in the Sea of Azov, Andrei Klimov, a member of Russia's Federation Council, accused the EU of encouraging Ukraine's president to engage in "military adventurism." Klimov told RIA Novosti: "This is the same as placing a machine gun and flame thrower in the hands of a psychopath and watching how he acts in a recreation park where people are taking walks."
Futher story by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-kerch-strait-ukrainian-provocation-russia-washington/29622239.html
riafan.ru/1125276-rasschityvali-chto-ikh-potopyat-aksenov-nazval-cel-provokacii-vmsu-v-kerchenskom-prolive
riafan.ru/1125283-ukraincy-stali-zalozhnikami-avantyury-poroshenko-volodin
Russkaya Vesna
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on Ukraine and Azov Sea.
The Ukrainian Parliament adopted a resolution scheduling the presidential elections for 31 March 2019.
On November 25 border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen. Russia argued that they were in Russian waters.
However a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty is considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine.
Further debunking by the Polygraph.
"The three Ukrainian vessels – the ‘Berdiansk’, the ‘Nikopol’ and the ‘Yany Kapu’ – were ignoring "legal demands to stop" and "performing dangerous maneuvers," and the Russian warships had to open fire to force them to stop, the FSB says. The ships were then seized and towed to the Crimean port of Kerch."
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on Ukraine and Azov Sea.
On November 25 border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen. Russia argued that they were in Russian waters.
However a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty is considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine.
Further debunking by the Polygraph.
NATO military exercise Anakonda is an attempt to provoke Belarus and create a buffer zone on its territory.
Disinformation that appeared when the Lithuanian news portal kaunas.kasvyksta.lt/ was hacked and an article accusing NATO of planning to occupy Belarus was planted. The article first appeared in an English language blog with imagery linking to a user-generated entertainment website.
The news portal kaunas.kasvyksta.lt was hacked using the credentials of a former employee via foreign servers. The article has been removed as soon as the media outlet became aware of it. The outlet kaunas.kasvyksta.lt was also the first one to report its own hacking. At least 7 copies of the article were disseminated across other news outlets and social networks using both fake online personas and cyber activity.
The content of the planted article revolves around a common pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that NATO is a threat to Russia's security and is preparing to attack.
Further debunking and information about the hacking: DFRlab and kaunas.kasvyksta.lt
iz.ru/808013/anton-lavrov-roman-kretcul-aleksei-zabrodin/tvoiu-diviziiu-vsu-samovolno-pokinuli-bolee-33-tys-chelovek
lenta.ru/news/2018/11/07/33/
www.aif.ru/society/army/smi_ukrainskuyu_armiyu_s_2014_goda_samovolno_pokinuli_33_tysyachi_soldat
Izvestia
Lenta.ru
Argumenty i Fakty
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukrainian army.
In fact, according to the Ukrainian Unified Registry of Pre-Trial Investigations, a pretrial investigation was carried out on 13237 criminal proceedings for unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or duty station (Article 407 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and desertion (Article 408 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), of which 11354 were actually sent to the court.
Further debunking by Stop Fake.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on war in Ukraine with repeated false claims about Ukraine's aggression.
The report is based on an unsubstantiated claim made by a RIA Novosti correspondent.
The same report cites a news item published by the separatist Donetsk News Agency (DAN) that quotes separatist military spokesperson Ruslan Yakubov as saying that the situation is quiet and that no shelling is taking place. The DAN news item makes no mention of any recent shelling by Ukrainian forces.
Radio Free Europe's Ukrainian Service also debunked RIA's claim.
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about White Helmets. For further reporting on Aleppo attack see BBC report.
The OPCW recently announced that it is planning to send a mission to Syria to probe an alleged poison gas attack.
Background:
Earlier, pro-Kremlin disinformation has claimed that both the 2017 attack in Khan Sheikhoun and 2018 in Douma were faked. UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism found Syria’s Government responsible for last year’s attack in Khan Shaykhun. On April 10 2018 Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution that would have created a new inquiry to ascertain responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. In June, the OPCW members granted it power to assign blame for chemical attacks.
///
The Western masters of Kyiv are behind the provocation [incident in the Azov sea]. Ukraine is a country that has lost its sovereignty and is managed from outside, is an instrument to aggravate international tensions.
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on Ukraine and Azov Sea.
On November 25 border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen. Russia argued that they were in Russian waters.
However a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty is considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine.
Further debunking by the Polygraph.
rg.ru/2018/11/25/rossiia-tochno-sprognozirovala-scenarij-primeneniia-hlora-v-aleppo.html
riafan.ru/1125099-siriya-zachem-terroristy-primenili-khimoruzhie-protiv-mirnykh-zhitelei-aleppo
Rossiyskaya Gazeta
RIA FAN
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about White Helmets. For further reporting on Aleppo attack see BBC report.
The OPCW recently announced that it is planning to send a mission to Syria to probe an alleged poison gas attack.
Background:
Earlier, pro-Kremlin disinformation has claimed that both the 2017 attack in Khan Sheikhoun and 2018 in Douma were faked. UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism found Syria’s Government responsible for last year’s attack in Khan Shaykhun. On April 10 2018 Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution that would have created a new inquiry to ascertain responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. In June, the OPCW members granted it power to assign blame for chemical attacks.
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about chemical attacks and the West "destabilizing Russia".
For background on Aleppo attack see BBC report.
tass.ru/politika/5832598
rg.ru/2018/11/25/kosachev-nazval-situaciiu-vokrug-himataki-na-aleppo-pokazatelnoj.html
Tass
Rossiyskaya Gazeta
No evidence given.
The OPCW recently announced that it is planning to send a mission to Syria to probe an alleged poison gas attack.
For background on Aleppo attack see BBC report.
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about White Helmets. For further reporting on Aleppo attack see BBC report.
The OPCW recently announced that it is planning to send a mission to Syria to probe an alleged poison gas attack.
Background:
Earlier, pro-Kremlin disinformation has claimed that both the 2017 attack in Khan Sheikhoun and 2018 in Douma were faked. UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism found Syria’s Government responsible for last year’s attack in Khan Shaykhun. On April 10 2018 Russia vetoed a U.S.-drafted U.N. Security Council resolution that would have created a new inquiry to ascertain responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. In June, the OPCW members granted it power to assign blame for chemical attacks.
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on Ukraine and Azov Sea.
On November 25 border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen. Russia argued that they were in Russian waters.
However a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty is considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine.
Further debunking by the Polygraph.
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative on referendum in Crimea.
Crimea is part of Ukraine. Russia violated international law as well as key principles of the European security framework in illegally annexing the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol. The European Union does not recognise and continues to strongly condemn this violation of international law, which remains a challenge to the international security order. This position is based on the UN Charter, which clearly states that the territory of a State cannot be acquired by another State resulting from the threat or use of force, as well as on the Helsinki Final Act in which the signatories declared their intention to respect the inviolability of frontiers and territorial integrity.
UNGA Resolution 68/262, which condemned Russia's illegal actions in Ukraine, was supported by 100 United Nations member states. Only 10 states opposed it.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation undermining Ukraine's statehood. https://euvsdisinfo.eu/disinformation-cases/?text=&disinfo_issue=&disinfo_keywords%5B0%5D=77158&date=&offset=10
There was no coup in Ukraine in 2014. The demonstrations which began in Kyiv in November 2013 – called "Maidan", or "Euromaidan" – were not provoked from outside but were a result of the Ukrainian people's frustration with former President Yanukovych's last minute U-turn when, after seven years of negotiation, he refused to sign the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement and halted progress towards Ukraine's closer relationship with the EU as a result of Russian pressure. The protesters' demands included constitutional reform, a stronger role for parliament, formation of a government of national unity, an end to corruption, early presidential elections and an end to violence http://bit.ly/2ftv6iT. The European Union does not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and continues to condemn this violation of international law, and that Russia’s illegal actions remain a direct challenge to international security, with grave implications for the international legal order that protects the unity and sovereignty of all States.
Regarding Ukraine’s economy and corruption: Ukraine's economy has continued the recovery started in 2016, following the recession of 2014-2015. GDP grew by 2.5% in 2017 and is projected to grow by 3.5% in 2018. Ukraine has made significant progress in consolidating public finances, notably by reducing the fiscal deficit from 4.5% GDP in 2014 to 1.4% in 2017. Inflation has decreased substantially since 2015, down to 13.7% in 2017 and 8.9% by July 2018. According to the World Bank's Doing Business survey, Ukraine ranks 76th in 2018, which is an improvement from 80th in 2017, and 142nd in 2010, the EU’s Association Implementation Report says. https://cdn3-eeas.fpfis.tech.ec.europa.eu/cdn/farfuture/aZnrbQ70ZJtiXaRXV69qTtPI-d-gbCzZxpirQUpU6EY/mtime:1541749617/sites/eeas/files/2018_association_implementation_report_on_ukraine.pdf The report notes the slower pace of reforms in the areas of the judiciary and anti-corruption measures.
utro.ru/politics/2018/11/20/1381275.shtml
Utro.ru
Misleading headline. In fact, it was Henri Hautamäki, from the youth wing of the Finns Party, who posted a tweet in which he asked Finland to "officially demand the return of territories (including Karelia) ceded to Russia at the end of WWII!". His statement does not represent the official position of Finland.
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about territorial claims of the EU countries.
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine's relations with its western partners.
The European Union supports Ukraine in ensuring a stable, prosperous and democratic future for all its citizens. The EU is unwavering in its support for the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty and sees the full implementation of the Minsk agreements as the basis for a sustainable, political solution to the conflict in the east of the country.
Ukraine's economy has continued the recovery started in 2016, following the recession of 2014-2015. GDP grew by 2.5% in 2017 and is projected to grow by 3.5% in 2018. Ukraine has made significant progress in consolidating public finances, notably by reducing the fiscal deficit from 4.5% GDP in 2014 to 1.4% in 2017. Inflation has decreased substantially since 2015, down to 13.7% in 2017 and 8.9% by July 2018. According to the World Bank's Doing Business survey, Ukraine ranks 76th in 2018, which is an improvement from 80th in 2017, and 142nd in 2010, the EU’s Association Implementation Report says. https://cdn3-eeas.fpfis.tech.ec.europa.eu/cdn/farfuture/aZnrbQ70ZJtiXaRXV69qTtPI-d-gbCzZxpirQUpU6EY/mtime:1541749617/sites/eeas/files/2018_association_implementation_report_on_ukraine.pdf The report notes the slower pace of reforms in the areas of the judiciary and anti-corruption measures.
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on Ukraine and Azov Sea.
On November 25 border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen. Russia argued that they were in Russian waters.
However a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty is considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine.
Further debunking by the Polygraph.
“Unlike Ukraine, we don’t drag our military into adventures and do not shirk international law. And if Ukraine indicated its position, pushing it into international waters, then it shouldn’t make loud statements about ‘ramming, attacks, provocations.’ Moreover, our vessels have moved far ahead in their technological development, we do not use ramming as a tactic."
It was Russia’s 2014 military adventure in Crimea that made it possible for Russia to exert more control over the Kerch Strait. Additionally, Russia continues to occupy part of Ukraine’s Donbas region militarily, and that conflict still claims the lives of soldiers on both sides, sometimes daily. However, Russia released a video apparently taken from the bridge of one of the Russian Coast Guard vessels. It clearly shows that the Russian ship did not change course as it bears down on the Ukrainian tugboat, apparently deliberately ramming the tugboat. Later, Ukraine’s General Staff released what it said were radio intercepts from the Russian Coast Guard vessels, which if authentic, shows that the Russians deliberately attacked the Ukrainian vessels. Debunking by Polygraph.
Background:
On November 25 border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen. Russia argued that they were in Russian waters.
However a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty is considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine.
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation on Ukraine and Azov Sea.
On November 25 border patrol boats belonging to Russia’s FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and their crews after shooting at them, wounding several Ukrainian servicemen. Russia argued that they were in Russian waters.
However a bilateral treaty between Russia and Ukraine, signed in 2003 and ratified by Russia in 2004, governs the use of the Kerch strait and the Sea of Azov, which in the treaty is considered to be the “internal waters” of both Russia and Ukraine.
Further debunking by the Polygraph.
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine's relations with its western partners.
The European Union supports Ukraine in ensuring a stable, prosperous and democratic future for all its citizens. The EU is unwavering in its support for the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty and sees the full implementation of the Minsk agreements as the basis for a sustainable, political solution to the conflict in the east of the country.
Western nations contribute to a spread of terrorist groups in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, who seek to target Russia (37:50).
No evidence given.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about West encircling Russia.
In fact, the EU's engagement in the Central Asia region has significantly expanded since the early 1990s. Both regions share a common goal of achieving stability and prosperity through peaceful means.
No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine allegedly supporting terrorism.
No evidence given. German law does not limit or prohibit foreign ownership of the media. However, foreign ownership is a minor factor in the German media market.
Recurring pro - Kremlin disinformation about US presence in Europe.
Further debunking by Polygraph.
