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fake-news-detector-euvsdisinfo

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07.09.2022

Russia defends Russians and Russian-speaking Ukrainians from Nazis

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/russia-defends-russians-and-russian-speaking-ukrainians-from-nazis

all-make.net

Ukraine, Russia

Russian

Russia was forced to defend Russian people in Ukraine where the Russian language has been banned. Bandera crowds rule Kyiv. We back our WWII goals. Why does the West not see Nazification of European and US politics? Russians are the most divided nation and we protect Russians living abroad.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets alleging that a Nazi junta ruling in Ukraine persecutes ethnic Russians and Russian-speaking Ukrainians. This claim was made to justify Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine."Nazi" is also a classic Kremlin manipulative accusation against everybody not supporting Russia. See our article "Nazi East, Nazi West, Nazi over the cuckoo´s nest" Russia's aggression against Ukraine was unprovoked and unjustified. Contrary to Russian claims, the Russian language is not banned in Ukraine, nor did Ukraine commit genocide in the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. None of the multiple reports on the human rights situation in Ukraine, which are regularly published by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, or the reports of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission come even close to referencing genocide in Ukraine.Russia is not protecting ethnic Russians or Ukrainians speaking Russian in Ukraine. Such claims have been unequivocally debunked by independent Russian media, among others. Ukrainian law does not forbid the use of Russian nor any other languages in private communication and religious ceremonies, as well as in book publishing, the press, including radio and television, education and the service sector. Furthermore, Ukraine is a signatory to the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which guarantees that people in Ukraine have the right: "to use freely and without interference his or her minority language, in private and in public, orally and in writing."The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine, which appeared during the Revolution of Dignity (Euromaidan) protests in late 2013 - early 2014, has been used by the Kremlin to discredit Kyiv’s shift toward Euro-Atlantic policy. It has also been widely debunked and analysed by EUvsDisinfo. Russia has aggressive plans beyond Ukraine. Some Russian politicians seem to be using the words de-Nazification indiscriminately of late. In response to a critical remark by Polish President Andrzej Duda about Russia, Russian MP Oleg Morozov threatened in May 2022 to place Poland “in the first place in line for de-Nazification after Ukraine”.Read more disinformation cases alleging that Ukraine is a Nazi state, the EU is Hitler's 'New Europe', and the European Union justifies Nazism.

Invasion of Ukraine, Nazi/Fascist, Anti-Russian

07.09.2022

Ukraine deliberately targets the most vulnerable points of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-deliberately-targets-the-most-vulnerable-points-of-the-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant

app.al7lmnews.com,m.akhbarelyom.com,youm7.com,arabic.rt.com,nabd.com,news.safapress.com

Ukraine, Russia

Arabic

With regard to the security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the main threat is the continuous bombing by the Ukrainian armed forces.The Ukrainian armed forces directly shells the most vulnerable points of the station, deliberately creating the risk of a large-scale radiological accident.

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation claim about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power plant in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.This is not the first time the Kremlin’s manipulation and disinformation machine has used a deep-seated and very reasonable fear of a nuclear disaster to advance its political and military goals in Ukraine.In fact, there have been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.Russia has been widely accused of using the plant as a shield from which to launch attacks. Using the plant in this way violates the Geneva Convention, which states that particular care must be taken if "installations containing dangerous forces" are located near the fighting. About 500 Russian troops are reported to be at the site (as of early September).EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labeled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.Read our article Playing with nuclear fire and the Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.For background see: disinformation targeting Ukraine.See similar cases that Ukraine's attack on Zaporizhzhia plant is nuclear terrorism; that Ukraine shells Zaporizhzhia station daily using heavy US weapons; Ukraine shells nuclear plant to deploy international peacekeeping forces; and that Washington and the Kyiv regime's actions pose a threat of nuclear catastrophe.

Nuclear issues, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

07.09.2022

EU citizens demand to stop supporting Ukraine

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/eu-citizens-demand-tostop-supporting-ukraine

asd.news

Ukraine, EU

Russian

EU citizens demand to stop supporting the Nazis in Ukraine. [It is clear] support for the Nazi regime would decline very quickly.

Pro-Kremlin disinformation about the invasion of Ukraine and the EU's support for Ukraine, alleging that there is no support among the citizens for the EU's actions. Recent EU polls show that the majority of EU citizens support the EU's response to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. All EU actions receive majority support: humanitarian support (92%), welcoming in the EU Ukrainians fleeing the war (90%), financing of supply and delivery of military equipment to Ukraine (68%). The absolute majority of EU citizens are satisfied with the EU's response to Russia's aggression (57%). When asked whether national governments are doing enough or too much to help refugees fleeing Ukraine, most EU citizens say that their governments are either doing enough (33-53% depending on the country) or not enough (13-39%). Only between 9% in Spain and 27% in Poland believe that their governments invest too much in helping refugees from Ukraine. Also, when asked about sending military equipment to Ukraine, the majority of EU citizens in Poland, Spain, France, and Germany believe that additional military assistance to Ukraine must be provided. See similar disinformation cases alleging that Western sanctions are the cause of inflation or that the West caused a global economic storm - energy crisis.

Invasion of Ukraine, humanitarian aid

07.09.2022

Sanctions imposed by Washington and Brussels are pushing Italy to economic suicide

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/sanctions-imposed-by-washington-and-brussels-are-pushing-italy-to-economic-suicide

lantidiplomatico.it

Russia, Italy, EU, US

Italian

Sanctions imposed by Washington and Brussels are pushing Italy to economic suicide.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation presenting Italy as the puppet of the US and of EU and about Western sanctions on Russia claiming that they have backfired.European Union is a sovereign entity created by the voluntary initiative of European nations and it has its own, independent foreign policy, while the US has no say in its decisions.See our article Key Narratives in Pro-Kremlin Disinformation Part 3: ‘Lost Sovereignty’.Italy is a EU member country since 1958, Euro area member since 1999, Schengen area member since 1997. Italy, which is represented European Parliament by 73 members, plays a relevant role within EU institutions.Economic sanctions, including sanctions on the energy sector, were implemented by European Union as a reaction to the unjustified actions of Russia. The first sanctions were imposed in 2014 after Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea. The European Union is implementing sanctions on Russia on its own initiative but also coordinates with partners, including the US. See more information about the EU’s sanctions on Russia. See also information on how the EU has been supporting Ukraine since the start of the war on 24 February 2022.Most research supports the view that sanctions have worked as planned, noting the drag they have imposed on Russia’s general economic development since 2014. Russia’s own counter-sanctions have also had a clear negative effect on the welfare of the average Russian household.A report written by the Chief Economist of Confindustria, the General Confederation of Italian Industry, published in Spring 2022, states that the direct impact of sanctions on Russia on the Italian economy is overall modest.Read similar cases claiming that the EU lost more from sanctions than Russia and that the US is pushing Europe into the abyss.

Sanctions, Economic difficulties, economy, Sovereignty

07.09.2022

The EU is interested in the long-term war in Ukraine because of its anti-Russian position

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-eu-is-interested-in-the-long-term-war-in-ukraine-because-of-its-anti-russian-position

EU, Russia

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: EU, Russia

The European Union continues its policy of unilateral restrictions, trying to undermine the development of Russia and punish its citizens for supporting an independent course of the foreign policy of their country. These actions go against international law, and they are accompanied by unprecedented anti-Russian rhetoric.At the same time, the EU and its particular member states provide the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and military equipment used for attacks on civilian infrastructure, what complicates the humanitarian situation in the conflict zone and endangers the entire European continent.This situation shows that the EU does not want to invest in peace in Ukraine and Europe, prolonging the conflict in the region. The residents of the EU countries are forced to pay for this militant policy out of their own pockets.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets accusing the EU of aggravating the situation in Ukraine and war sponsoring.The EU does not sponsor war, but is continuously calling on Moscow to stop Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The West is not interested in the continuation of the war at the heart of Europe.The Council adopted two assistance measures aimed to step up the EU’s support for the capabilities and resilience of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country, and protect the civilian population against the ongoing Russian military aggression.Since Russia launched its unjustified aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the West has been calling for a peaceful settlement. Due to Russia’s refusal to seriously discuss a diplomatic solution and its resolve to continue fighting and targeting civilian objects, Western nations took a tougher stand and imposed sanctions on Moscow. Read about the EU sanctions against Russia.Some Western nations are sending weapons to Ukraine with the sole purpose of helping it repel the Russian aggression. Western weapons are expected to enable Ukraine to liberate its territories and restore its territorial integrity within the internationally recognised borders. Ukraine does not intend to move further into Russia within its internationally recognised borders.The EU resolutely condemns Russia’s indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, and urges Russia to immediately and unconditionally withdraw all its troops and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.As for the claim about the war crimes responsibility, Ukraine is investigating more than 21,000 war crimes and crimes of aggression committed by Russia.Read more about the EU’s response and support for Ukraine.Read other disinformation cases about the Russian unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

06.09.2022

The West caused a global economic storm - energy crisis

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-west-caused-a-global-economic-storm-energy-crisis

oroszhirek.hu

Russia, EU

Hungarian

A large global storm is coming as a result of the completely illogical and often absurd decisions of the US, Europe and the EU. The sanctions against Russia backfired, which led to high energy prices for the West and record inflation. Meanwhile, Russia has been maintaining macroeconomic stability.

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about sanctions in the context of the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has long claimed that Western sanctions backfired. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article. Russia has been using energy as a political and economic weapon several times against other states. Russia is no longer a stable and reliable supplier and while Europe is indeed facing an energy crisis with diversification to other sources, it is still set to grow this year according to the European Commission's summer 2022 forecast, while Russia's economy is set to contract by 6% in 2022. A Russian internal report assessed that the sanctions might set the country back substantially, especially sectors that the Russian economy have relied on in the past, such as the oil, gas, metals sectors, as well as chemicals and wood products. Massive international disvestment, braindrain and logistical bottleneck are visible. Crucially, Russia is having significant issues acquiring high-tech chips that are required for its precise weaponry, so it needs to use older stock of Soviet weapons.

Sanctions

06.09.2022

Operating Nord Stream I would be dangerous

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/operating-nord-stream-i-would-be-dangerous

oroszhirek.hu

Russia, EU

Hungarian

Using the failed turbine of Nord Stream I pipeline would be dangerous, it could cause an explosion or fire. Previously, other turbines had exhibited the same faults.

The article transmits recurring disinformation narratives about the alleged technical issues that limit natural gas deliveries to the EU through the Nord Stream pipeline. This narrative plays into the Kremlin's claims that the West is collapsing.Siemens noted that it did not believe such leakage is sufficient ground to stop the pipeline's operation, as "Such leaks do not normally affect the operation of a turbine and can be sealed on site." The so-called technical problems occur at the same time as Kremlin seeks to pressure the European governments and create public panic over energy insecurity / energy costs.

Natural resources, gas, Energy

06.09.2022

Russia must purify Ukrainian language by eliminating totalitarian and terrorist influence

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/russia-must-purify-ukrainian-language-by-eliminating-totalitarian-and-terrorist-influence

politnavigator.net,fr.news-front.info

Ukraine, Russia

Russian, French

There is a classical, relatively speaking Ukrainian language, which is very close to the Russian language and which every Russian person understands, because it is just a variant of the Russian language. And there is the official modern Ukrainian language, which is the product of political technologists. Russian words are replaced by a large number of Polish and English words. And this artificial, totalitarian and terrorist modern Ukrainian language is now taught to schoolchildren. Consequently, today the complete elimination of this "artificially created language" is strongly needed, because it originates from the terrorist methods of Ukrainian nationalists.The modern Bandera language is an anti-Russian political language.

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that the Ukrainian language does not exist, with an injunction to “purify” it to make it sound like Russian.Ukrainian is a real language and very different from Russian since centuries. It is more similar to other Slavic languages than Russian. In the last period of the USSR 1950s-1980s there was an effort to make the language disappear by progressively replacing words by Russian words. Russian was considered having an historical perspective in Soviet Union but not Ukrainian as Natalya Shevchenko explains:During the “thaw,” a period when Ukrainian publishing underwent a significant revival, the Ukrainian language was nevertheless classified with most languages of the USSR as “non-perspective.” A few languages other than Russian were counted as “perspective”: Armenian, Georgian, Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian. Both their linguistic nature and the national solidarity attached to them meant these languages resisted Russification well; Ukrainian and Belarusian kinship with Russian condemned both languages to gradual destruction.To know more about the Kremlin efforts to pretend against reality that Ukrainian was a dialect understood by Russian watch this video. Already in the XVII-th century Russians could not understand Ukrainian without interpreters.Read also related stories: Russia does not want to destroy Ukraine, The Nazi ideology is evident in Ukrainian schools, Russians (Great Russians) and Ukrainians (Little Russians) are one people.

Terrorism, Genocide, culture, Russian language, Anti-Russian, Totalitarianism, children

06.09.2022

Mariupol maternity hospital shelling and Bucha massacre are fakes, French politician confirms

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/mariupol-maternity-hospital-shelling-and-bucha-massacre-are-fakes-french-politician-confirms

kp.ru,RIA,tsargrad.tv,Pervyi Kanal

Ukraine, France, Russia

Russian

Former French presidential candidate Ségolène Royal criticized Kyiv's propaganda. She questioned Kyiv's claims about the situation in Ukraine. Royal suggested that the information about the shelling of the maternity hospital in Mariupol and the provocation in Bucha were invented in order to interfere with the peace process. Ségolène Royal said that Zelenskyy is lying, there is no need to support the Ukronazi regime, and the Russians did not commit war crimes.French politician Ségolène Royal was hunted down for telling the truth about the Kyiv regime and Zelensky.

The material and links may contain distressing/graphic content.The report of the pro-Kremlin media is only partly true. The French politician Ségolène Royal has apologised for her statement denying Russia's war crimes evidence in Mariupol in Ukraine. As for Bucha, she did not say the evidence of war crimes was staged."I was wrong", contacted by CheckNews - the fact checking section of the Libération newspaper - Ségolène Royal admits having made an “error”. On September 1, the former socialist candidate for the presidency of France suggested that the shelling of the maternity hospital in Mariupol had no casualties. “Everyone knows that there is a war propaganda by fear", had declared Royal. " And you can imagine that if there had been the slightest victim, the slightest baby with blood, in the age of cell phones, we would have had them", - she said speaking to BMF TV.As for Bucha massacre, Ségolène Royal did not initially suggest it was a fake, as pro-Kremlin media report:Presenter: - And the Bucha massacre and the investigators who are on spot and the testimonies we have collected?Royal: - Let's see the testimonies..." "I had half a second to think, it was three sentences out of the blue, a few minutes at the end of a program that was not about this subject", - Mme Royal further explained to Libération in her apology.No evidence support the claims of the pro-Kremlin media that "Ségolène Royal was hunted down for telling the truth about the Kiev regime and Zelensky" and "during the time Bucha was under the control of the Russian military, not a single civilian was injured".In Bucha, after months of meticulous, painful and at times gruesome investigation, officials said that they had reached what may be the closest they will get to a final accounting of victims of the murderous rampage by Russian troops that set off worldwide outrage over alleged atrocities: 458 bodies, of which 419 bore markings they had been shot, tortured or bludgeoned to death.In Mariupol, media reported three deaths including a child after the shelling of a maternity hospital. To which will be added a few days later a pregnant woman and the child she was carrying, who died from injuries. At least 17 people were injured.See more debunked disinformation cases on war crimes of Russia in Ukraine, including in Bucha and Mariupol.

Invasion of Ukraine, war crimes

06.09.2022

Ukraine is the most corrupted country in the world, helping it is suicide

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-is-the-most-corrupted-country-in-the-world-helping-it-is-suicide

Ukraina.ru,odysee.com,businessbourse.com,francais.rt.com,planetes360.fr,taib jous,Reddit.com Resource

Ukraine, EU, Russia, France

Russian, French, English

Macron pretends to help the peace process, but he sends weapons to Ukraine. The current policy is suicide for France as we send billions to the most corrupted country in the world. Money will never help Ukrainians it only increases the wealth of Oligarchs. Besides sanctions are stupid as Russia is the main raw material supplier in the world. It means only Europe will suffer from sanctions, not Russia.

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives claiming that the EU countries should not help Ukraine, nor get rid of the energy dependency on Russia, nor impose sanctions on Russia after its aggression against Ukraine.Ukraine was far from being the most corrupted state in the world according Transparency international in 2021 (rank 122/180 while Russia is behind at 136/180). Though, this high level of a corruption is a concern for foreign aid and reforms to reduce it are made in the exceptional full scale war situation. The Association Council between the EU and Ukraine stated for instance on 5 September 2022:"The Association Council welcomed the steps that Ukraine had taken thus far with regard to reforms in the sphere of anti-corruption, fighting against fraud, anti-money laundering and rule of law and urged Ukraine to pursue further efforts in these areas. It stressed the paramount importance of ensuring the independence, effectiveness and sustainability of the anti-corruption institutional framework and avoid politisation of the work of all law enforcement agencies. The Association Council welcomed the major steps taken by Ukraine towards a comprehensive reform of the judiciary in 2021 and the appointment of the new Head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, while emphasising the urgent need to complete the selection of the new Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the reform of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (CCU), including a clear and transparent competitive selection process for judges."The effects of sanctions on the Russian economy are real and long term. For example, the Russian military complex has difficulties procuring high tech components required to produce weapons.Finally, REPowerEU is not a way to sanction Russian economy but more generally a plan to rapidly reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and fast forward the green transition.Read also related stories: Western sanctions are the cause of inflation, Sanctions don't affect the Russian economy - Yale University is wrong, Western weapons are stolen long before they reach the Ukrainian soldiers, Ukraine became a poor, corrupt, failed state controlled by the West.

Economic difficulties, Europe, Sanctions, Corruption, Abandoned Ukraine, Energy

05.09.2022

France and Germany plan to introduce Western propaganda in Russia

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/france-and-germany-plan-to-introduce-western-propaganda-in-russia

sputniknews.lat

Russia, France, Germany

Spanish

The governments of Germany and France plan to introduce Western propaganda in Russia, according to a report obtained by the US news agency Bloomberg. “Germany and France want the European Union to drive a wedge between President Vladimir Putin and the Russian people with a propaganda campaign within Russia”, the report says.

The claim is a deliberate manipulation of the original Bloomberg article. Although part of this Sputnik story contains accurate reporting on a joint non-paper obtained by Bloomberg and titled “Defending the international order in an age of systemic rivalry: EU-Russia relations”, it includes a crucial distortion in the headline and the initial paragraphs. The original article states: “Germany and France want the European Union to drive a wedge between President Vladimir Putin and the Russian people with a campaign to counter propaganda within Russia”, which is very different from the allegation made by this disinformation story about “a Western propaganda campaign in Russia”. Through this distortion, Sputnik tries to equate Russian disinformation with the efforts to counter it, while promoting other long-term pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about Western initiatives to destabilise Russia.Distorting articles in Western media to make them appear as supporting pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives is a frequent technique of pro-Kremlin outlets. See other examples in our database, such as false claims that Financial Times reported that Ukraine threatened Russia with terrorist attacks, that The New York Times reports that Russia is barely affected by sanctions, that Germany doesn’t trust Zelenskyy according to Der Spiegel, that The National Interest explained why the US should side with Russia in Ukraine; or that Foreign Policy explained why Washington needs a “Russian intervention”.

Propaganda, Destabilising Russia

05.09.2022

US and NATO keep tensions high around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/us-and-nato-keep-tensions-high-around-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant

Ukraine, US, Europe, Canada, UK

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, US, Europe, Canada, UK

The US and NATO keep tensions high around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Hand by hand with the Americans, the Ukrainians ceaselessly attack the critical infrastructures of the plant. If there is a technological catastrophe, responsibility will be of Washington, London and their minions.

The allegation is false. By trying to blame Western powers, this disinformation story aims to deflect any Russian responsibility for the dangerous situation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Contrary to what this disinformation story claims, the US and NATO have been actively calling at every point for a reduction of tensions and risks regarding the plant. The US backed UN proposals for a diplomatic solution to this situation such as the creation of a demilitarised area around Zaporizhzhia (which Moscow rejected), while NATO pushed for a IAEA inspection of the plant.In fact, Russia has taken many reckless actions regarding this facility, including placing military equipment and troops inside its premises, using its surroundings as a base for rocket and missile attacks, and interrupting its power line. Besides, Russia has deliberately promoted a fear campaign about the risks of a nuclear disaster in order to advance its goals in Ukraine.See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the Kyiv regime actions around the Zaporizhzhia plant is nuclear terrorism, that Washington and the Kyiv regime’s actions pose a threat of nuclear catastrophe, that Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia plant show that the US does not accept defeat, or that NATO may use Zaporizhzhia incident as a pretext to join combat in Ukraine.

05.09.2022

Russia is under US and NATO attack

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/russia-is-under-us-and-nato-attack

es.news-front.info

Russia, US, Canada, Europe, UK

Spanish

The US is struggling to keep a hegemony that is decreasing every passing day. As a result, Russia is under US and NATO attack.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about an aggressive West encircling and destabilising Russia, aiming to portray the country as a victim and deflect any responsibility for Moscow’s illicit actions. In fact, Western actions adopted against Russia, such as sanctions or diplomatic measures, are a reaction to these actions including the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula, the long-term destabilisation of Ukraine or the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of this peaceful country.See other examples of similar disinformation messages, such as claims that the West fights Russia through psy-ops like Bucha and the Mariupol maternity hospital, that the US needs war between Russia and Ukraine to weaken Russia, that Moscow called for peaceful coexistence but Russia is depicted as a global threat, or that the West has an anti-Russian plan named “Anaconda ring”.

NATO, Encircling Russia, Destabilising Russia

05.09.2022

New evidence of US military-biological activity in Ukraine

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/new-evidence-of-us-military-biological-activity-in-ukraine

bgr.news-front.info

Ukraine, US, Russia

Bulgarian

Documents obtained by the DPR's intelligence service show that the Pentagon and Kiev have cooperated in organising the work of biological laboratories on Ukrainian territory for a long time, long before 2014 even. This casts doubt on recent US statements claiming that there is no bio-military activity near the Russian borders.

The article promotes a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about biological weapons being secretly developed by the US in countries bordering Russia. This narrative is a leitmotif in a years-old disinformation campaign conducted by the Kremlin and is currently deployed in an attempt to justify Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.Some of the most bizarre and yet enduring Kremlin disinformation narratives have been those accusing the West of running clandestine biological research programmes to wreak havoc around the world. In reality, all laboratories located in Ukraine are controlled by the Ukrainian government. In August 2005, the US and Ukrainian governments made an agreement to prevent the spread of dangerous pathogens and relevant expertise and to diminish potential biological risks. Partially, this agreement was aimed at modernising state laboratories in Odesa, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk and other regions, consisting of upgrading lab equipment and repairs of premises.The US Embassy in Ukraine previously addressed the claims about supposed bio-military labs in Ukraine, stating that this is a fabricated accusation in pro-Kremlin propaganda that aims to hinder the ongoing U.S.-Ukrainian partnership to reduce biological threats. The accusations are part of the Kremlin’s broader, long-lasting disinformation campaign to discredit the US in the eyes of Putin’s pro-Western neighbors such as Georgia and Ukraine.More cases concerning bio-military labs near Russia’s border include: Ukraine disease outbreaks linked to activity of US biolabs; Germany was involved in the development of biological weapons in Ukraine; Bio experiments in US labs turn Ukrainian soldiers into ‘most cruel monsters’.

Biological weapons, laboratory, Invasion of Ukraine

05.09.2022

US efforts are turning Ukraine into a shrinking, landlocked state

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/us-efforts-are-turning-ukraine-into-a-shrinking-landlocked-state

bgr.news-front.info

Ukraine, EU, Russia, US, Europe

Bulgarian

If necessary, Russia can initiate a swift military counterattack towards Ukraine – a scenario underestimated by the West. Western elites (particularly Biden’s administration) insist that the conflict is at a crucial phase and new weapon shipments will win the war for Ukraine. By following this flawed strategy, Ukraine will become nothing more than a shrunken landlocked state between the Dnieper River and the Polish border.

This article contains a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative, claiming that through weapon shipments and military support, the West is obliging Ukraine to take aggressive steps in a war that it cannot win.In reality, the EU, NATO and their partners have continuously lobbied for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution for all issues caused by Russia’s aggressive foreign policy. In reality, the West dispatches weapons to Ukraine in order to stop Russia’s aggression and killings of civilians, whilst still putting an effort into finding a diplomatic solution. Ukraine’s armed forces are most certainly not in a helpless state, as the Kremlin’s propaganda claims. On the contrary, Ukraine is pushing back and showing resistance, which is important from a political, psychological and military viewpoint. Although Russia has occupied approximately 20% of Ukraine (where it is committing war crimes against civilians), Ukraine’s military has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to counter Russia’s strategy and tactics and capacity to wage counter-offensives. Ukrainian armed forces have successfully attacked munition depots and various strategic targets behind the frontline and have started a counter-offensive in the south, especially around Kherson as well as a counter-offensive in the east in the Kharkiv region.More cases concerning NATO/EU enlargement and military support to Ukraine include: By arming Ukraine, the US and the UK want to push Russia against Europe; NATO is interested in further military escalation; Russia's special operation in Ukraine is due to NATO's persistent expansion.

Invasion of Ukraine, EU/NATO enlargement, NATO

05.09.2022

The US is waging a cultural war on Russia

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-us-is-waging-a-cultural-war-on-russia

LDiena.lt

Ukraine, US, Russia

Lithuanian

The US is seeking to turn Ukraine into a militarised anti-Russian camp. The US attacked Russia on three battlefields: supplying Ukraine with modern weapons, implementing sanctions, and mobilising the world for the cultural war against Russia (because the US does not like Russia’s traditional values).

Recurring disinformation narrative about the US as the state behind the war in Ukraine.Russia's unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is not a “special operation“ but an all-out war against a sovereign state. Russia has been coming up with different explanations and pretexts for its aggression. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII.Multiple countries around the world support Ukraine's defence against Russia' military aggression with deliveries of weapons, ammunition and non-lethal military equipment, including multiple NATO allies, Australia, Japan, and others.Many also countries are supporting Ukraine with military, political and humanitarian aid and are simultaneously trying to find a diplomatic solution to the war. The US is supporting Ukraine in different fields to help Kyiv defend the country. See more information about the US security cooperation with Ukraine here.Kremlin disinformation uses the narratives of traditional values for justifications for the aggression in Ukraine. In this context, Russia is represented as the outpost for traditional (conservative) values which are constantly attacked by the secular West. Ukraine in this struggle is represented as the puppet of Western powers. For more details, see this article from “the Washington Post“ “How Putin is weaponising ‘traditional values’ to defend Russian aggression in Ukraine“.See also the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.

Conspiracy theory, War in Ukraine, Puppets, culture, Anti-Russian

05.09.2022

Ukraine is bombing Zaporizhizhia nuclear power plant, afraid of the conclusions of the IAEA

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-is-bombing-zaporizhizhia-nuclear-power-plant-afraid-of-the-conclusions-of-the-iaea

Laivaslaikrastis.lt

Ukraine

Lithuanian

The Ukrainian army has been bombing Zaporizhizhia nuclear power plant for the few last weeks. It tried to launch an assault the plant but this attempt was prevented.The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sent inspectors to the plant. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is afraid that their conclusions could be not in favour of Ukraine.

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power plant. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.This is not the first time the Kremlin’s manipulation and disinformation machine has used a deep-seated and very reasonable fear of a nuclear disaster to advance its political and military goals in Ukraine.There have been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.Ukraine supports the mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met IAEA Director General Mariano Grossi on 30 August 2022. Zelenskyy said“the Ukrainian side wants the IAEA mission headed by Director General Grossi to access Zaporizhzhia NPP and make every effort to avoid all the global threats“.Read our article Playing with nuclear fire and the Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.For background see disinformation targeting Ukraine.

War in Ukraine, Nuclear issues, Volodymyr Zelensky

05.09.2022

Ukraine aims to use Turkish Bayraktars for chemical attacks

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-aims-to-use-turkish-bayraktars-for-chemical-attacks

livenews.am

Ukraine

Armenian

The head of the Russian Chemical, Biological and Radioactive Weapons Protection Service announced that Ukraine intends to use the Turkish Bayraktar UCAV for a chemical attack. The authorities of Ukraine have requested the Bayraktar drone manufacturing company to equip these drones with chemical spraying equipment, which could pose a real threat to Russia.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about false flag operations and chemical weapons attacks. Such claims are a part of a broader pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign accompanying the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, trying to place the blame for the war's atrocities on Ukraine.Moscow has a history of falsely accusing its opponents of staging "provocations" which either never happened at all, or were subsequently carried out by themselves or their allies.There is no evidence to back the claim that Ukraine is preparing a chemical or biological provocation or a use of the weapons of mass destruction. Оn the contrary, many Western leaders have real concerns’ Russia could use chemical weapons."Russia could use chemical weapons in Ukraine or manufacture a "false flag" operation that uses them. Russia has long and well-documented track record of using chemical weapons" as well as its pattern of "accusing the West of the very violations that Russia itself is perpetrating," White House former Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated.Read also related cases: Kyiv prepares chemical attacks to blame the Russian army, Ukraine is under control of the West and staged fakes about Bucha, Mariupol and Kramatorsk, West needs provocations to accuse the Russian military of using chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Chemical weapons/attack, false flag, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

04.09.2022

The EU energy sanctions hit Europe, while Russia is drowning in money

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-eu-energy-sanctions-hit-europe-while-russia-is-drowning-in-money

EU, Russia

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: EU, Russia

The EU energy sanctions against Russia turned against the Europeans and enriched Russia. Today, we can see that the energy sanctions against Russia are much more painful for the French than for Russia, which is now drowning in money. Let us be honest - these sanctions helped Russia to get rich and they turned against the Europeans.

Old and recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative stating that sanctions would barely hurt or even benefit to Russia while it would dramatically hurt the EU, repurposed to serve in the context of Russia's unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.The EU adopted so far six sanction packages against Russia due to its illegal aggression and occupation of Ukrainian territories. Not all trade restrictions are yet enforced, as the energy sector needs a longer transition periods - so it is too early to assess the full effect of the sanctions in the long term. However, it is incorrect to state that Russian economy would be barely affected or would even benefit from the sanctions. The Russian leadership is constantly demanding the sanctions be removed.A recent study from Yale University takes a detailed look into the effects sanctions are having on the Russian economy, concluding that "business retreats and sanctions are catastrophically crippling the Russian economy."See also the assessment of EU HRVP Josep Borrell: sanction policy is working and strongly impacts Russian economy.Read also related cases : The New York Times reports that Russia is barely affected by sanctions, sanctions against Russia worsen the economic crisis in the West , Sanctions are beneficial to Russia so the West should recognise Crimea as Russian, FT: Thanks to sanctions Russian agriculture strengthens its position in the world, The EU lost more from sanctions than Russia, European sanctions against Russia do not work.

03.09.2022

It was the UK intelligence that planned the assassination of Darya Dugina, while the perpetrators were Ukrainians

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/it-was-the-uk-intelligence-that-planned-the-assassination-of-darya-dugina-while-the-perpetrators-were-ukrainians

svpressa.ru,geworld.ge

Ukraine, UK, Russia

Russian, Georgian

Although the perpetrators were Ukrainians, Darya's assassination was not planned by the Security Service of Ukraine or the Main Directorate of Intelligence. This is the classic handwriting of the British secret services. And, since any contract killing requires false leads, Ilya Ponomarev was assigned to deceive and voice the false leads.

Pro-Kremlin disinformation about the UK, Ukraine and secret services.There is no evidence to substantiate the claims that the UK's intelligence service or Ukraine were behind the assassination of Darya Dugina in Moscow, daughter of Alexander Dugin.Russia has almost immediately accused Ukraine of the assassination, providing only dubious "evidence", (see also: here and here) that cannot be independently verified. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack.The EU condemns all attacks on civilians, including the car explosion in the Moscow region which killed Ms. Darya Dugina on Saturday 20 August 2022. The EU considers a full and impartial investigation of the incident important.A couple of days later, an organisation called The National Republican Army took responsibility for the incident. Former Russian MP Ilya Ponomarev claims that the organisation represents a Russian partisan movement dedicated to overthrowing the Putin regime.See related pro-Kremlin disinformation claims alleging various conspiracies against Russia by foreign secret services.See similar claims that British intelligence may be behind the assassination of Darya Dugina, that Ukraine, Estonia and Great Britain killed Darya Dugina, that Darya Dugina was killed by Ukrainian terrorists, that Ukrainian secret services are behind the murder of the daughter of Alexander Dugin, that The emerging evidence confirms Kyiv’s complicity in the murder of Darya Dugina, that The assassination of Darya Dugina is a new shift in the war between Russia and the West.

War in Ukraine, Secret services

03.09.2022

Ukraine will not be able to hide that it bombed the Zaporizhzhia NPP

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-will-not-be-able-to-hide-that-it-bombed-the-zaporizhzhia-npp

newsformy.com,rtarabic.com,arabic.rt.com,nabd.com,todays-news24.com,menkuwait.com

Ukraine, Russia

Arabic

The Russian Defense Ministry spoke of two attempts by Ukrainian forces to land in Enerhodar to take over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. However, the calculations of the Ukrainian army did not work, and they could not control the power plant. Now, it will be difficult for them to hide the fact that Ukrainian forces bombed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Although we cannot guarantee the independence of the [IAEA] commission, we still hope that justice will be served.

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation claim about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power plant in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.This is not the first time the Kremlin’s manipulation and disinformation machine has used a deep-seated and very reasonable fear of a nuclear disaster to advance its political and military goals in Ukraine.In fact, there have been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarization of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.Russia has been widely accused of using the plant as a shield from which to launch attacks. Using the plant in this way violates the Geneva Convention, which states that particular care must be taken if "installations containing dangerous forces" are located near the fighting. About 500 Russian troops are reported to be currently at the site.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labeled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.Read our article Playing with nuclear fire and the Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.For background see: disinformation targeting Ukraine.See similar cases that Ukraine's attack on Zaporizhzhia plant is nuclear terrorism; that Ukraine shells Zaporizhzhia station daily using heavy US weapons; Ukraine shells nuclear plant to deploy international peacekeeping forces; and that Washington and the Kyiv regime's actions pose a threat of nuclear catastrophe.

Nuclear issues, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

03.09.2022

Western global elites chose to plunge their countries into poverty and dictatorship to retain power

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/western-global-elites-chose-to-plunge-their-countries-into-poverty-and-dictatorship-to-retain-power

odysee.com,lesmoutonsrebelles.com,Sputnik on Twitter,kouni+237,Sputnik on Twitter,soleilverseau.com,reseauinternational.net

French

All the experts agree that weaning European economies from Russian gas is objectively impossible. To do that would mean ruining the country. Can the globalist elites, in order to stay in power, even govern flourishing countries, or can they only govern ruins? Unfortunately, after two years of COVID management, now comes the instrumentalisation of the Ukrainian crisis. All Western Atlanticist countries maintain this crisis and support Kyiv [...].

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that the secret globalist elites from the West are using what the outlet is disingenuously calling the "Ukrainian crisis" after the COVID-19 crisis to make people poorer and reduce their freedom, and to maintain themselves in power.This narrative is a classic of conspiracy prone groups, here adapted to the Covid-19 health crisis and the joint European action REPowerEU. As Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said:“We must become independent from Russian oil, coal and gas. We simply cannot rely on a supplier who explicitly threatens us. We need to act now to mitigate the impact of rising energy prices, diversify our gas supply for next winter and accelerate the clean energy transition. The quicker we switch to renewables and hydrogen, combined with more energy efficiency, the quicker we will be truly independent and master our energy system.”The plan aims at progressively diminishing dependency on a supplier who revealed unreliable.The European Union is a sovereign entity created by the voluntary initiative of European nations, built on shared values and principles, including democracy. The EU member states themselves are independent states, governed by democratically elected representatives. Moreover, it is incorrect to mention an “Ukrainian Crisis” , the EU unambiguously characterizes this as a Russian aggression :“We condemn this barbaric attack, and the cynical arguments to justify it. It is President Putin, who is bringing war back to Europe. In these dark hours, the European Union and its people stand by Ukraine and its people. Russia's target is not only Donbass, the target is not only Ukraine, the target is the stability in Europe and the whole of the international peace order. And we will hold President Putin accountable for that »Read also : Globalists and Judeo-Masons artificially create new strains of coronavirus to reduce the population, Nations are ruled by the dictatorship of the global billionaires elite, Deep state is a group of crypto-fascists who want to run the world, Global corporations are responsible for the war in Ukraine.

03.09.2022

The West wants to push Russia towards a new round of disintegration

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-west-wants-to-push-russia-towards-a-new-round-of-disintegration

Russia, Ukraine, US, EU

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, Ukraine, US, EU

The overseas analysts and Western politicians speak loudly about the imminent death of all empires. According to them, the Spanish, British and many other empires disappeared, but Russia continued to exist despite the USSR’s collapse. This situation is bad, so it is necessary to use all means to push Russia towards a new round of disintegration, taking advantage of the armed conflict in Ukraine. Thus, it is necessary for the West to do everything possible to undermine the functioning of the Russian state institutions and deprive this country of effective government, as it happened in 1991. In the end, Russia will be removed from the political scene.

A recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative alleging the West is trying to destabilise and destroy Russia.The West does not seek to eliminate Russia as a geopolitical actor. Neither NATO, the USA, nor the EU wishes to push Russia towards destabilisation and disintegration. The claim that the West tries to “return Russia to the year of 1991” is ungrounded.All the fundamental domestic and international problems of Russia do not come from the alleged Western hostile activities and plots, but they are the results of aggressive and corrupt policies implemented by the Kremlin during recent decades. All existing destructive processes taking place within the Russian state have been significantly accelerated by Putin’s decision to annex Crimea in 2014 and to start a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In other words, it is Putin’s war against Ukraine which is destroying the perspectives of Russia, not alleged Western plots.See similar disinformation claims that the EU wants to make Russia a semi-colony to dictate its foreign and domestic policy; that NATO and the EU want to contain and destabilise Russia through Navalny and the “opposition”; that the West is hysterical about interfering in Russia through the Navalny case; that the US wants to meddle in Russian internal affairs; and that the West collectively develops a hostile attitude towards Russia.

02.09.2022

Global élite instigate ethnic conflicts to save their decadent hegemony

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/global-elite-instigate-ethnic-conflicts-to-save-their-decadent-hegemony

geopolitika.ru

Russia, Ukraine, Europe, US

Italian

The global liberal financial élite is planning ethnic conflicts not only in Ukraine and Russia but also in Germany, France, Eastern Europe to save their decadent hegemony by trying and divide Europe.Liberals, the global financial oligarchy and Atlanticists are attempting to generate hostility between Russia and Europe as well as trying to save their shaky dominance by promoting ethnic conflict

Conspiracy theory. The article provides no evidence to support its claims. The article repeats a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that seeks to discredit liberal democracies claiming that the latter are in reality systems ruled by “globalist elites” and “shadow governments” that subjugate and manipulate the masses by disintegrating communities, deepening ethnic divisions in order to divide European societies.The article’s message about the alleged subservience of Western élites to “international financiers” is also consistent with recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about all-powerful global élites or secret élites ruling the world and controlling leaders.War in Ukraine is not an ethnic conflict caused by Western global elite but a struggle between Russia and Ukraine for Ukraine’s future – either as an authoritarian, corrupt state controlled by Russia, or as an independent state building European standards of democratic governance and rule of law. There has been no ethnic conflict between Russians and Ukrainians in recent history and there was none involved in the Maidan unrest from November 2013, which was a protest against corruption and bad government. Read similar cases claiming that contemporary liberalism is becoming totalitarian and views non-liberals as enemies to be killed and destroyed and that a weakened global liberal elite stages Russophobic events throughout the world.

Secret elites / global elites, War in Ukraine, ethnic tension, Conspiracy theory

02.09.2022

Ukraine is openly using Nazis in its army

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-is-openly-using-nazis-in-its-army

oroszhirek.hu

Ukraine, Russia

Hungarian

Ukraine is the only country in the world that has openly integrated neo-Nazi militias into its national army, and while these militias were once described as "neo-Nazi" in the Western media, they are now referred to as "far-right groups". Since the Russian troops entered Ukraine in February, Nazi paraphernalia has been found hidden in the homes and bases of members of these militias, and pictures of soldiers wearing Nazi and far-right symbols have been posted on Ukrainian government-run social media accounts.

This is a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Nazi Ukraine, presented as justification for Russian military aggression against Ukraine, which started on 24 February 2022. The Azov unit, which the claim indirectly references was formed in May 2014 in Mariupol from volunteers, initially as a battalion of the Special Purpose Police Patrol Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In September 2014, it was transformed into a battalion in a regiment structure, later to the National Guard of Ukraine. The battalion sized unit strength is estimated at around 900 - 1100 persons.Although it was just one among dozens of volunteer militias, Azov unit garnered controversy over the far-right politics of its initial founders, the use of neo-Nazi symbolism in some of its insignia, and the anti-Semitic views of some members. The unit was integrated into the National Guard of Ukraine in 2015. Since its integration, Azov regiment members have repeatedly denied being a far-right political unit, although they acknowledge that it includes individuals with such views.In 2015 Ukraine issued a ban on Nazi and Communist ideologies. Generally speaking, far-right groups enjoyed a very limited presence during the Euromaidan itself and had poor results in the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections. The "Right Sector" candidate received 0.7% of the vote in the May 2014 presidential elections, and the party received 1.8% of the vote in the October 2014 parliamentary elections. In the 2019 election cycle, far-right candidates fell short of the 5% minimum guaranteeing entry into parliament.The accusation of Nazism and building a link to Nazi Germany is one of the favourite techniques of pro-Kremlin outlets. Read our past analysis Nazi east, Nazi west, Nazi over the cuckoo's nest.Learn more about the reasons behind Kremlin's obsession with framing Ukraine as a Nazi state in the EUvsDisinfo analysis titled "Why does Putin portray himself as the tamer of neo-Nazism".See more cases about so-called 'Nazi Ukraine' here.

Nazi/Fascist, Volodymyr Zelensky, Invasion of Ukraine, Military, social media

02.09.2022

No Russian weapons in or around Zaporizhzhia station; Kyiv’s actions are nuke terrorism

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/no-russian-weapons-in-or-around-zaporizhzhia-station-kyivs-actions-are-nuke-terrorism

Rossiya 1

Ukraine, Russia

Russian

There are no Russian heavy weapons in or around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station. By shelling this power station, Kyiv is creating the threat of a nuclear catastrophe in Europe. According to international law, Kyiv’s behaviour is nuclear terrorism.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power station.In reality, Russian media reports accusing Ukraine of shelling the power plant are unsubstantiated. Ukraine’s authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has warned about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider has shown that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armoured vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors.The “physical integrity” of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station has been “violated”, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Raphael Grossi said after an IAEA delegation visited the station. Grossi saw a part of a missile on the territory of the power station, whose trajectory was clearly from the occupied area. A Russian official who was accompanying him denied it was a Russian missile, but he could not give a viable explanation why it had come from Russian-controlled land. He said the missile had turned 180 degrees before it hit the ground, but that was not an acceptable explanation.It is Russia who has been shelling the power station. Russia has been widely accused of using the plant as a shield from which to launch attacks. Using the plant in this way violates the Geneva Convention, which states that particular care must be taken if "installations containing dangerous forces" are located near the fighting.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.Read our article Playing with nuclear fire and the Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Nuclear issues, Invasion of Ukraine

02.09.2022

Ukrainian military wanted to use IAEA official as human shields to retake the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukrainian-military-wanted-to-use-iaea-official-as-human-shields-to-retake-the-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant

oroszhirek.hu

Ukraine, Russia

Hungarian

Just before their visit of the IAEA, however, Ukrainian artillery targeted the town of Energodar and the nuclear power plant itself, while a group of commandos crossed the Kakhovka reservoir by boat and attempted to storm the facility. Both the initial attack group and the reinforcements that followed were destroyed by the National Guard and attack helicopters. Their aim was to seize the Russian-held plant and use IAEA personnel as human shields to maintain control over the facility. Ukrainian officials have also claimed that the Russian army is using the plant as a military base, stationing heavy weapons there. Moscow has denied the allegations, saying only lightly armed guards protect the facility.

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power plant. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article. A new element is the claim that Ukrainian forces tried to use the mission of the IAEA as human shield to retake the power plant.No evidence was provided to back the claim that Ukraine is shelling the Zaporizhzhia power plant. In fact, there has been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said. Russian forces likely use the territory of the plant to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.Additionally, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and established firing positions.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.See similar article that Ukrainian forces fired missiles at the Zaporizhzhia station and Russian defences repels them; Ukraine shells nuclear plant to deploy international peacekeeping forces; Ukrainian militants are shelling the nuclear station in Zaporizhzhia; IAEA president warns of nuclear catastrophe after Kyiv shells Zaporizhzhia; Ukraine must be forced to stop shelling Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant; Russia has not attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Nuclear issues, Invasion of Ukraine, Terrorism, war crimes

02.09.2022

Ukraine disease outbreaks linked to activity of US biolabs

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-disease-outbreaks-linked-to-activity-of-us-biolabs

fr.news-front.info,News Front - German,bgr.news-front.info,pl.news-front.info

Ukraine, Russia, US

French, German, Bulgarian, Polish

Spontaneous outbreaks of disease in Ukraine can be linked to the part of the joint biological research projects, where the parties are reportedly first consolidating pathogens in a single central reference laboratory and then transporting weakened strains out of the laboratory. In Kharkiv, where one of the Pentagon’s reference laboratories is located, 400 people died of swine flu in January 2016 and another 200 were hospitalised. A measles epidemic broke out in Ukraine in 2017. In 2019, there was an outbreak of a disease similar in symptoms to the plague.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets alleging that there is military biological activity in Ukraine, often at the premises of the US-sponsored secret laboratories. This alleged activity is presented as the case of several disease outbreaks in their neighborhood.There are no US biological warfare laboratories in Ukraine. Ukraine is one of the states cooperating with the US Department of Defence's Biological Threat Reduction Programme (BTRP): the goal of the BTRP is to safeguard global health by preventing and containing the outbreak of infectious diseases and establishing high international standards in biological security.The US Department of State has stated that "The US does not own or operate any chemical or biological laboratories in Ukraine, it is in full compliance with its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Biological Weapons Convention." Read more about this topic here.Epidemics of Measles are real but have more to do with vaccination skepticism than with bio labs imaginary activity. The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that "vaccination hesitancy" has become one of the top threats to global health. In the same period of time Russian efforts in the western infosphere helped to legitimize anti-vax messages.Read also related stories: Bio experiments in US labs turn Ukrainian soldiers into ‘most cruel monsters’, Pentagon-backed labs produce bioweapons in Mariupol, American laboratories in Ukraine were developing biological weapons, Evidence of military biological activities in Ukraine is increasing, The US plans to send infected migratory birds to infect Russia.

Biological weapons, laboratory, War in Ukraine, Ukraine, DNR

02.09.2022

Russia fighting Collective West and NATO in Ukraine war

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/russia-fighting-collective-west-and-nato-in-ukraine-war

yapolitic.ru

Ukraine, Russia, EU, US

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia, EU, US

Russia is now taking a blow which shows that the actual fight is aimed against the collective West and NATO forces.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets claiming the West and NATO troops in particular are directly involved in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine on the Ukrainian side.  The claim also builds on the well-known Kremlin narrative of the West encircling Russia.Some NATO member states are providing Ukraine with military assistance to repel the unprovoked Russian aggression, but they are not involved in direct fighting. Ukraine receives weapons with the sole aim of restoring its territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. Western instructors are teaching Ukrainian soldiers how to use modern weaponry, but there are no NATO troops fighting on the front. NATO condemns in the strongest possible terms Russia's war on Ukraine. NATO as an organisation is not involved in fighting in Ukraine.After so many war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine, Moscow de facto ruled out prospects for a quick peaceful agreement. Kyiv’s position is that peace talks with Moscow will be possible only after the complete and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from the entire Ukrainian territory including the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula and the separatist-controlled regions in the East.Read more disinformation cases about the Russian unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

01.09.2022

Ukrainians are bewitched and do not know what they are doing

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukrainians-are-bewitched-and-do-not-know-what-they-are-doing

ar.rtarabic.com,alkalimaonline.com,kachaf.com,arabic.rt.com

Ukraine, Russia

Arabic

The majority of Russians see that Russia is not facing Ukraine, but the West, which is fighting Russia with the hands of the Ukrainians. In Russia we do not observe any hatred towards Ukrainians, because we see them as victims, in the first place, who have been manipulated and maliciously deceived. They are "bewitched", and they themselves do not know what they are doing.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aimed at portraying Ukraine as a non-independent state that is under direct foreign control.Since 16 July 1990, when it adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty, Ukraine has been an independent and sovereign state. It has democratically elected state institutions, including the Parliament and a President, who take all the decisions regarding state governance. As a sovereign state, it decides its own international political orientation freely.In fact, Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity have only been violated by continuous acts of aggression by Russian armed forces since 2014 culminating in a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022.Read similar stories that Zelenskyy is a marionette puppet in the hands of the West; that the US wants to make Ukraine their colony and use it to weaken Russia; and that Ukraine has become another colony of the West.

War in Ukraine, Sovereignty, Ukrainian statehood, Invasion of Ukraine

01.09.2022

Ukraine bombed the meeting place of the IAEA mission and Zaporizhzhia NPP

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-bombed-the-meeting-place-of-the-iaea-mission-and-zaporizhzhia-npp

lantidiplomatico.it

Ukraine, Russia

Italian

Ukrainian Armed Forces bombed the meeting place of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power plant. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.No evidence was provided to back the claim that Ukraine is shelling the Zaporizhzhia power plant and the the meeting place of the IAEA mission. In fact, there has been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".This is not the first time the Kremlin’s manipulation and disinformation machine has used a deep-seated and very reasonable fear of a nuclear disaster to advance its political and military goals in Ukraine.The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarization of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.Russia has been widely accused of using the plant as a shield from which to launch attacks. Using the plant in this way violates the Geneva Convention, which states that particular care must be taken if "installations containing dangerous forces" are located near the fighting. About 500 Russian troops are reported to be currently at the site.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labeled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.Read our article Playing with nuclear fire and the Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.Read a similar case claiming that Ukraine's attack on Zaporizhzhia plant is nuclear terrorism and that Ukraine shells Zaporizhzhia station daily using heavy US weapons

Nuclear issues, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

01.09.2022

IAEA delegation, like that of the OSCE, will pass on intelligence to the Ukrainian army

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/iaea-delegation-like-that-of-the-osce-will-pass-on-intelligence-to-the-ukrainian-army

arabic.rt.com,nabd.com,sahat-altahreer.com

Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Lithuania

Arabic

It can be assumed that the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] delegation includes professional members of intelligence services, including from Poland and Lithuania, who have no nuclear power plants, and yet they have their own specialists on the team.Let us remember that the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) observers are the ones who "observed" the armistice in Donbas. As it turned out, half of them were officers in Western intelligence services, and they passed the information to the Ukrainian army.

Multiple claims made with no evidence. The claim that members of the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) are intelligence officers who will pass information to the Ukrainian army is consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin claim 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 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.See other examples of disinformation narratives about the supposed anti-Russian bias of international institutions- such as the OPCW, the World Anti-Doping Agency or the United Nations.See our report on pro-Kremlin disinformation around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Nuclear issues, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

01.09.2022

Unlike Ukraine, Russia does not shell the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/unlike-ukraine-russia-does-not-shell-the-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant

sahat-altahreer.com,nabd.com,arabic.rt.com,almatareed.org

Ukraine, Russia

Arabic

The goal of the West and Ukraine, and perhaps the IAEA, is to force the Russian armed forces to leave the territory of the nuclear power plant and its surroundings. But this is not realistic because we do not have any weapons on the territory of the power plant, and we do not shell the Ukrainian sites from there. Conversely, Ukraine is shelling it with the intention of hitting spent nuclear fuel storage depots, which would entail a large-scale nuclear catastrophe.

This is an unsubstantiated claim by pro-Kremlin outlets about the situation at Zaporizhzhia NPP, made in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.This is not the first time the Kremlin’s manipulation and disinformation machine has used a deep-seated and very reasonable fear of a nuclear disaster to advance its political and military goals in Ukraine.In fact, there have been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.Russia has been widely accused of using the plant as a shield from which to launch attacks. Using the plant in this way violates the Geneva Convention, which states that particular care must be taken if "installations containing dangerous forces" are located near the fighting. EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.In its statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.Read our article Playing with nuclear fire and the Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.For background see: disinformation targeting Ukraine.**This disinformation message appeared in the same article as the claim that IAEA delegation, like that of the OSCE, will pass on intelligence to the Ukrainian army.

Nuclear issues, Invasion of Ukraine

31.08.2022

West discusses plans to create joint Polish-Ukrainian state

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/west-discusses-plans-to-create-joint-polish-ukrainian-state

belvpo.com

Ukraine, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, UK

Russian

Different scenarios of partitioning Ukraine between the West and Russia are increasingly discussed. No one doubts that this will happen sooner or later. Poland, with its imperial ambitions and plans to organise Rzeczpospolita 2.0, intends to become one of the beneficiaries. Warsaw is actively discussing the format of accession of western Ukrainian territories. The UK-related plan assumes that Ukraine’s military loss can become the foundation for the creation of a Polish-Ukrainian state. This way the West will attempt to create a buffer state to isolate Russia. Other than Poland and Russia, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania are also eyeing Ukrainian territories.

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives, challenging Ukraine’s statehood and presenting Poland as a state with imperial ambitions, aiming to confound the reality of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. It promotes a conspiracy about western plans to create a joint Polish-Ukrainian state.This disinformation message has adopted several different and sometimes contradictory forms, including allegations that Poland wants either to create a puppet proxy-state in Western Ukraine or the annexation of these territories or that it is actually President Zelenskyy who wants to cede this land due to his “Polish origin”. This effort can be interpreted as an attempt to seed mistrust between Ukraine and Poland and other Western backers of Kyiv.In fact, Poland, as well as Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, adhere to international law regarding state borders, fully support the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and do not have any territorial claims against it. Read more about the Eastern policy of Poland here.On the contrary, it is Russia that started an unprovoked war in Europe, capturing more and more territories of a neighbouring country and has created a serious danger to European security. As such, this Kremlin claim seeks to deflect attantion away from Russia and its illegal annexation of Crimea and full scale war against Ukraine. See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.

War in Ukraine, Imperialism/colonialism, Conspiracy theory

31.08.2022

Western secret services, together with the terrorist Ukrainian state, are behind the assassination of Darya Dugina

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/western-secret-services-together-with-the-terrorist-ukrainian-state-are-behind-the-assassination-of-darya-dugina

Ukraine, Estonia, Russia

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Estonia, Russia

Everything in the case of Darya Dugina indicates that not only the Ukrainian state, which has long since become a terrorist, is behind the terrorist attack, but also Western intelligence services, for example, the Estonian one.

Pro-Kremlin disinformation about Ukraine, Estonia and their secret services.There is no evidence to substantiate the claims that Ukraine, Estonia or any other country was behind the assassination of Darya Dugina in Moscow, daughter of Alexander Dugin.Russia has almost immediately accused Ukraine of the assassination, providing only dubious "evidence", (see also: here and here) that cannot be independently verified. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack, the same goes for Estonia.The EU condemns all attacks on civilians, including the car explosion in the Moscow region which killed Ms. Darya Dugina on Saturday 20 August 2022. The EU considers a full and impartial investigation of the incident important.A couple of days later, an organisation called The National Republican Army took responsibility for the incident. Former Russian MP Ilya Ponomarev claims that the organisation represents a Russian partisan movement dedicated to overthrowing the Putin regime.See related pro-Kremlin disinformation claims alleging various conspiracies against Russia by foreign secret services.See similar claims that British intelligence may be behind the assassination of Darya Dugina, that Ukraine, Estonia and Great Britain killed DaryaDugina, that Darya Dugina was killed by Ukrainian terrorists, that Ukrainian secret services are behind the murder of the daughter of Alexander Dugin, that The emerging evidence confirms Kyiv’s complicity in the murder of Darya Dugina, that The assassination of Darya Dugina is a new shift in the war between Russia and the West.

31.08.2022

Poland is trying to seize Ukraine

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/poland-is-trying-to-seize-ukraine

ukraina.ru,RIA,geworld.ge

Poland, Ukraine

Russian, Georgian

Poland is trying to take possession of Ukraine. Polish businesses are now buying Ukrainian land, factories and agricultural products en masse, and the Polish government thinks it has a chance to take over the neighboring country for good.The Poles are trying to seize everything in Ukraine; they are buying land, they are also buying grain at a 50% discount in order to sell it more expensively in Europe.Poles have always considered Ukrainians as vassals, and now they have a chance to take over the neighboring country.The Ukrainian government exported the gold reserve to Poland in the winter.

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives, challenging Ukraine’s statehood and presenting Poland as a state with imperial ambitions, aiming to confound the reality of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.This disinformation message has adopted several different and sometimes contradictory forms, including allegations that Poland wants either to create a puppet proxy-state in Western Ukraine or the annexation of these territories or that it is actually President Zelenskyy who wants to cede this land due to his “Polish origin”. This effort can be interpreted as an attempt to seed mistrust between Ukraine and Poland and other Western backers of Kyiv.In fact, the claims regarding the seizure of Ukraine by the Poles are false and groundless. Ukrainian grain is sold in Poland at the same price as in other Eastern European countries. Additionally, citizens of foreign countries cannot buy agricultural plots of land in Ukraine neither can legal entities. At the moment, only natural persons who are citizens of Ukraine can buy agricultural land in Ukraine. Legal entities will be allowed to purchase land from 2024. Ukraine has not exported gold reserves to Poland. Read the full debunk of the claims at Myth Detector.Poland, as well as Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, adhere to international law regarding state borders, fully support the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and do not have any territorial claims against it. Read more about the Eastern policy of Poland here.On the contrary, it is Russia that started an unprovoked war in Europe, capturing more and more territories of a neighbouring country and has created a serious danger to European security. As such, this Kremlin claim seeks to deflect attantion away from Russia and its illegal annexation of Crimea and full scale war against Ukraine.See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.

Imperialism/colonialism, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

31.08.2022

Anti-Russian sanctions are illegal pressure

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/anti-russian-sanctions-are-illegal-pressure

tlgrm.ru,tass.ru,kp.ru,Stoletie,vesti.ru,aa.com.tr,ntv.ru,rg.ru

Russia

Russian

Anti-Russian sanctions are illegal pressure that undermines the foundations of the world order. Russia will respond to Western pressure harshly, but not to its own detriment.

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about what they call a Western aggressive policy of sanctions, framing them as unjustified illegal pressure.Sanctions are a key tool of EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.The EU sanctions are legitimate restrictions imposed in accordance with international and European law as a response to violations of international legalities, such as Russia’s actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. The EU established the sanctions regime under its laws, specifically Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, "concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine."The EU has the right to impose economic sanctions within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. Crucially, any such measures must strictly conform to European and international law. Other international actors have the right to impose them under international law as well under certain conditions.Through restrictive measures, the EU intervenes where appropriate to respond to emerging or current crises. EU sanctions are carefully targeted and designed to be proportionate to the objectives they seek to achieve. Moscow has falsely claimed that the EU sanctions are illegal ever since their imposition in 2014, following Russia's invasion, annexation, and ongoing occupation of Crimea.Read here about the EU and the US sanctions explained.Read more about the EU response and support for Ukraine. See our guide to deciphering pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's war.

Sanctions, Anti-Russian, New World Order, Sergei Lavrov, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

30.08.2022

Ukraine lost independence and is under external control

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-lost-independence-and-is-under-external-control

antimaydan.info

Ukraine

Russian

Full external control is established over the foreign and domestic policy of Ukraine. Over the past eight years, all financial institutions, including the National Bank of Ukraine, and all law enforcement agencies - the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Defence - have been thoroughly permeated with foreign consultants, advisers, supervisors, and instructors.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative alleging that Ukraine is under external control. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically-elected president and parliament. The decisions are taken by the Ukrainian authorities: the President, the Verkhovna Rada, and the judiciary. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by almost the whole world with Russia as the key exception. Ukrainian Constitution (Article 5) states that "The people are the bearers of sovereignty and the only source of power in Ukraine. The people exercise power directly and through bodies of state power and bodies of local self-government."The people elect the Parliament and the President of Ukraine. The ministries and the management of financial institutions are appointed by the Parliament of Ukraine (some are proposed by the President) and are accountable to the Parliament. See similar disinformation cases: A Polish protectorate over Western Ukraine is planned, NATO troops will get Ukrainian citizenship; Ukraine approached the anniversary of independence in the status of a colony under external control.

Ukraine, Sovereignty

30.08.2022

Without external financing, puppet-like Ukrainian statehood is a house of cards

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/without-external-financing-puppet-like-ukrainian-statehood-is-a-house-of-cards

Sputnik Latvia - Russian 2,Sputnik Belarus

Ukraine, Russia, US

Latvian, Russian

Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive attempt in the Mikolayiv and Kherson regions points at the serious degradation of the Kyiv regime. Without monthly foreign financing worth USD 5 billion, the puppet-like Ukrainian statehood will collapse like a house of cards. Therefore, in the coming months the Ukrainian military forces are doomed to be sacrificed to secure new western loans and arms supplies.

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about ‘Nazi Ukraine’ and lacking or artificial Ukrainian statehood. The claim about USD 5 billion foreign assistance monthly probably stems from Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement that due to Russia's full-scale offensive Ukraine's monthly budget deficit is currently assessed at USD 5 billion. The devastating blow to Ukraine's economy -- not speaking of huge human toll due to the Russian aggressive war -- does not however back the recurring disinformation claim about a "puppet-like statehood". On the contrary, in the face of large-scale aggression the Ukrainian people has demonstrated a resolute will to defend Ukrainian statehood. Available sociological surveys show high levels of Zelenskyy’s public approval. IRI Ukraine poll of late June 2022 showed that 91% of Ukrainians approve of Zelenskyy’s performance. The poll also found strong confidence in victory over Russia, little desire for territorial concessions, and a spike for NATO membership.The claim about Ukraine's financing support is intended to question the viability of Ukrainian statehood. Pro-Kremlin media outlets often cast doubts on Ukrainian statehood and claim that Ukraine either does not exist as a state or is going to tumble down very soon. In reality, present-day Ukraine has been on the world map since 1991 when the Soviet Union disintegrated. It has elected six presidents since then and changed parties in government several times which illustrates political diversity and democratic dynamics even during economic hardship in the wake of Russian aggression in 2014.One of the Kremlin’s most common disinformation narratives to justify its devastating war against Ukraine is the lie that Russia is pursuing the “denazification” of Ukraine. In reality, Ukraine is not a Nazi state, does not have a Nazi ruling elite and Nazism is not Ukraine’s ideology. Read a more detailed debunk here, as well as our analysis titled "Why does Putin portray himself as the tamer of neo-Nazism".See similar disinformation cases that target Ukraine's statehood: that Ukraine became an American colony since the coup; that Ukraine does not exist as a state; that Ukraine will be split up; that Ukraine is a quasi-state with a failed economy; or the imminent collapse of Ukraine.See also our articles on Lost Sovereignty and The Imminent Collapse.

War in Ukraine, Ukrainian statehood, Nazi/Fascist, Nuclear issues

30.08.2022

Ukraine shells Zaporizhzhia NPP so it can demand control over it

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-shells-zaporizhzhia-npp-so-it-can-demand-control-over-it

arabic.rt.com,nabd.com,menkuwait.com

Ukraine, Russia

Arabic

Ukrainian forces have been bombing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant for several weeks. As a result, several Ukrainian shells penetrated the roof of a building where 9,000 containers of spent nuclear fuel are stored. Fires broke out around the station as a result of the bombing, in addition to periodic power outages in Kherson and Nova Kakhovka, which are under Russian control.At the same time, Ukraine claims that the Russian forces themselves are the ones who bomb the station they control. The Ukrainian intentions are clear, Kyiv demands the transfer of the station to Ukrainian or Western control, arguing that this will eliminate the threat to the station.

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation claim about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power plant in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.This is not the first time the Kremlin’s manipulation and disinformation machine has used a deep-seated and very reasonable fear of a nuclear disaster to advance its political and military goals in Ukraine.In fact, there have been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarization of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.Russia has been widely accused of using the plant as a shield from which to launch attacks. Using the plant in this way violates the Geneva Convention, which states that particular care must be taken if "installations containing dangerous forces" are located near the fighting. About 500 Russian troops are reported to be currently at the site.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labeled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.Read our article Playing with nuclear fire and the Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.For background see: disinformation targeting Ukraine.See similar cases that Ukraine's attack on Zaporizhzhia plant is nuclear terrorism; that Ukraine shells Zaporizhzhia station daily using heavy US weapons; Ukraine shells nuclear plant to deploy international peacekeeping forces; and that Washington and the Kyiv regime's actions pose a threat of nuclear catastrophe.

Nuclear issues, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

30.08.2022

The President of the EC has no mandate, but declared war on Russia

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-president-of-the-ec-has-no-mandate-but-declared-war-on-russia

t.me,francais.rt.com,crowdbunker.com,VK.com Resource,taib jous,echelledejacob.blogspot.com,reseauinternational.net,soleilverseau.com,EVENT2BABI NEWS,InfosTube

Europe, EU, Russia

Russian, French, English

The EU is led by people without mandates. Yet Mrs Ursula decides on behalf of the European Union member states. The leaders of these states of support it and are doing it perhaps becasue they have the impression of escaping their responsibilities a little. Nevertheless, the west, US and EU, have declared war on Russia while Russia has offered negotiations until the last moment.

Recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative discrediting the democracy in the EU while praising Russian diplomacy.The Commission President is elected for a 5-year term by the European Parliament, following the European elections. Ursula von der Leyen was elected on 16 July 2019.The European Council (EU heads of state or government) proposes a presidential candidate to the Parliament. Because the choice of candidate must take into account the European election results, the proposed candidate generally comes from the largest political group in the Parliament.The Parliament has to approve the new Commission President by an absolute majority (half of all MEPs, plus one). Once approved, the European Council officially appoints the new President.Moreover the European Commission never declared war to Russia. On the contrary, it is Russia that refused the diplomatic process and started an unprovoked war in Europe, capturing more and more territories of a neighbouring country and has created a serious danger to European security.The decision to impose sanctions on Russia were taken by the European Council and not the EU commission.See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.Read also related stories: Ursula von der Leyen is demonizing Russia to demonstrate her assertiveness, Russia has never attacked anyone, Ursula von der Leyen unilaterally banned independent media, Ursula von der Leyen adopts laws under Greta Thunberg’s dictatorship.

gas, Anti-Russian, Democracy, European Commission

30.08.2022

Counteroffensive of Ukrainian army is a fabrication by drug addicts and criminals

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/counteroffensive-of-ukrainian-army-is-a-fabrication-by-drug-addicts-and-criminals

RIA,vz.ru

Ukraine

Russian

Reports about the offensive of the Ukrainian military in the southern direction are not true. Another fake Ukrainian propaganda, which was readily picked up in the West: Ukrainian militants allegedly launched an offensive in the southern direction. This is the same information stuffing as all the previous ones.A gang of drug addicts and criminals doing what they do best: imitations and fabrication of information forgeries. And drug addicts do not feel sorry for people who are thrown to certain death in order to achieve an informational effect.

Disinformation around the war in Ukraine. Ukrainian military officials announced the start of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kherson Oblast on August 29 as observed by the Institute for the Study of War.Ukrainian officials reported that Ukrainian forces have broken through the first line of defence in unspecified areas of Kherson Oblast and are seeking to take advantage of the disruption of Russian ground lines of communication caused by Ukrainian HIMARS strikes over many weeks.Ukrainian officials did not confirm the liberation of any settlements, but some Russian milbloggers and unnamed sources speaking with Western outlets stated that Ukrainian forces liberated several settlements west and northwest of Kherson City, near the Ukrainian bridgehead over the Inhulets River, and south of the Kherson-Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border, as summarised by the Institute for the Study of War. The accusation of Ukrainian officials being drug addicts is a recurrent one from pro-Kremlin media, one of many, to justify the full scale invasion of Ukraine which started on 24 February 2022. This drug addiction accusation was first advanced by Vladimir Putin on 25 February 2022. Putin did not give any evidence to support the claim.See more disinformation cases on the invasion of Ukraine.

Invasion of Ukraine, Kherson

30.08.2022

The West reduced the Russian share in global GDP to 3% through colonial exploitation

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-west-reduced-the-russian-share-in-global-gdp-to-3-through-colonial-exploitation

Russia, US, EU

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, US, EU

For a long time, the West tried to turn Russia into a regular colony. Despite the fact that the prosperity of Western states largely depended on Russia, this country was found guilty of "terrible historical crimes". The West tried to impose a guilt complex on the entire Russian nation. The Western countries, assisted by the Russian comprador bourgeoisie, began to pump out resources from Russia. This situation caused the reduction of the Russian share in the global GDP to 3%.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about a hostile West attempting to encircle, weaken and exploit Russia.The claim that the West tries to turn Russia into a colony “pumping out” its resources is ungrounded. Russia is an independent player in the global economy and it willingly sells its mineral resources, energy and other commodities at the global market. This has been the business model freely pursued by Russian governments during decades.The present-day share of Russia in the global GDP is not “3%” but only 1.54% (2020). In 2013, the share of Russia in the global economy reached a record-high 2.55%. Since 2014, as a result of Putin’s illegal annexation of Crimea and military attack on Ukraine, the Russian economy appears in a state of a worsening crisis, so its weight in the global economy keeps reducing.The main source of the Russian economic problems is not alleged Western “colonialism”, but aggressive and corrupt policies realised by the Kremlin.The Western aid and assistance in the 1990s helped Russia a lot in its transition from Communist rule towards a free-market economy. What Western nations strive for - both back in the 1990s and now - is a democratic, stable and corruption-free Russia at peace with its neighbours.See related cases: The US is threatening the security of Russia; Russia's development and stability is being thwarted by the Westand The West is organising information attacks to weaken Russia’s economy.

29.08.2022

The US and UK have created their own army in Ukraine

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-us-and-uk-have-created-their-own-army-in-ukraine

svpressa.ru,belvpo.com

Ukraine, US, UK

Russian

The US and UK are preparing their own army consisting of Ukrainian nationals but not subordinate to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It seems that Washington and London are concerned about an anti-war maidan in Ukraine. They are taking Kyiv under their control to prevent supporters of peace from coming to power. The brainwashed army will be used to topple possible social protests.

This is an unsubstantiated claim and disinformation. There is no proof that the US and UK are organising their own ‘army’ within the territory of Ukraine. This claim fits the recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that blames the West for the Russian invasion of Ukraine by painting Ukraine as a puppet of the West.The sociological surveys which are available show high levels of public approval for Zelenskyy. For example, an IRI Ukraine poll from late June 2022 showed that 91% of Ukrainians approve of Zelenskyy’s job performance. The poll also found strong confidence in victory over Russia, little desire for territorial concessions, and a spike in favour of NATO membership.See our guide to deciphering pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin’s war and read our account of the Kremlin’s intention to annihilate Ukraine here.

Conspiracy theory, Volodymyr Zelensky, War in Ukraine

29.08.2022

Zelenskyy equates Amnesty International to “terrorists” for denouncing the Ukrainian army

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/zelenskyy-equates-amnesty-international-to-terrorists-for-denouncing-the-ukrainian-army

actualidad-rt.com

Ukraine

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine

Zelenskyy equates Amnesty International to “terrorists” for denouncing that the Ukrainian military is endangering civilians.

The claim is a deliberate distortion of the statement of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on 4 August 2022, where he strongly criticised the controversial Amnesty International report titled “Ukrainian fighting tactics endanger civilians”. Zelenskyy’s exact words were: “Today we saw an Amnesty International report that attempts to amnesty a terrorist state and shift responsibility from the aggressor to its victim”. Throughout the whole statement, it is clear that the Ukrainian President refers only to Russia and its actions when he uses the term “terrorist”, and although he attacks the report and accuses the organisation of helping to justify these aggressions, in no way he equates both types of activities.Through this distortion and exaggeration, this story tries to discredit the leadership or Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation. See other examples of similar pro-Kremlin disinformation messages, such as claims that Zelenskyy is a marionette puppet in the hands of the West, that he didn’t warn Ukrainians about Russia’s offensive to save his own government, that he gets military advice from his 9-year old son, or that he is only a marketing operation, a Jewish face for a Nazi regime.

29.08.2022

Kyiv commits wild provocations and crimes to get West’s attention

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/kyiv-commits-wild-provocations-and-crimes-to-get-wests-attention

RIA,RIA,RIA

Russia, Ukraine

Russian

Once the western audiences found out that Bucha events were wild Ukrainian fakes, their trust in Ukraine-related news from local propaganda sources ended. The Kyiv regime realised that the West has become tired and disappointed, so it does even wilder things as times passes. It commits dangerous provocations and terrorist acts, attempts to use weapons of mass destruction in order to get attention from the bored western partners. Zelenskyy has turned Ukraine into a devil-like theater of cruelty, where real blood is split on the stage.

The material and links may contain distressing/ graphic content.This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets about the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The publication questions the well-established facts about Bucha massacre and contains generalised unsubstantiated accusations of the Ukrainian authorities. It absurdly blames Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the consequences of the ongoing bloody war, not Russia as an aggressor state.In Bucha, after months of meticulous, painful and at times gruesome investigation, officials said that they had reached what may be the closest they will get to a final accounting of victims of the murderous rampage by Russian troops that set off worldwide outrage over alleged atrocities: 458 bodies, of which 419 bore markings they had been shot, tortured or bludgeoned to death. There is no sociological data proving the publication's claim that trust of western audiences in local media eroded following the alleged 'fake' reporting of the Bucha events.See more debunked disinformation cases on war crimes of Russia in Ukraine, including in Bucha and Mariupol, and EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.

War in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, Terrorism

29.08.2022

Ukraine shells Zaporizhzhia NPP to organise another Bucha-like provocation there

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-shells-zaporizhzhia-npp-to-organise-another-bucha-like-provocation-there

Ukraine, Russia, US

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia, US

The Ukrainian and US authorities need the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant shelled to get there and organise another anti-Russian Bucha-like provocation. They do not need the Russian forces there as witnesses. They can bring actors and present them to the public as victims, as was the case in Bucha. They could also shoot some people on the NPP territory. Therefore the Russian forces need to stay at the Zaporizhzhia NPP no matter what.

The claim is part of a wider pro-Kremlin campaign accusing Ukraine and its allies of preparing a false-flag incident in Zaporizhzhia. It also promotes a disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin media denying the involvement of Russian troops in a massacre in the town of Bucha near Kyiv ,already widely debunked. A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP of 14 August 2022 urges Russia to immediately withdraw its military forces and all other unauthorised personnel from the Zaporizhzhia NPP. It also says, “The presence of Russian military forces at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant prevents the operator and the Ukrainian authorities from fulfilling their nuclear and radiation safety obligations in accordance with international conventions and IAEA safety standards, and prevents the IAEA from fulfilling its safeguards mandate.”As our recent analysis explains, reporting about the situation around Zaporizhzhia NPP, pro-Kremlin outlets use a familiar tactic of throwing as many accusations as possible. They previously alleged that Ukraine is shelling the ZNPP to trigger an international peacekeeping mission, that the US has secret labs in ZNPP, that the West was preparing a CBRN provocation, and that the West is responsible for Ukraine shelling the ZNPP.Bucha: Evidence of Russian atrocities commited in Bucha is overwhelming. Several executions and shooting of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha were recorded in video by witnesses and Ukrainian drones. Russia's claims that video footage showing dead bodies on the streets of Bucha is staged have been fact-checked and debunked by the Bellingcat, The Atlantic Council, Mediazona, The Insider and others. Other false allegations denying Russian involvement in the Bucha massacres were further debunked by some of those international outlets like Deutsche Welle, El País or France24. Read more here.Technical remark: This disinformation was broadcast via Sputnik on 17 August 2022. Due to the EU decision to restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.

29.08.2022

The assassination of Darya Dugina is a new shift in the war between Russia and the West

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-assassination-of-darya-dugina-is-a-new-shift-in-the-war-between-russia-and-the-west

rtarabic.com,arabic.rt.com,akhbarak.net,ru4arab.ru,nabd.com,msdernet.xyz,kachaf.com

Russia

Arabic

The assassination of Darya Dugina is a new shift in the war between Russia and the West.Dugin, the father, advocated for a Eurasian alliance to counter the power of the West, but could assassinations, even of Dugin the father, change the course of the war? This is what the masterminds of the assassination believe, as they are well versed in such methods which they frequently use to rid themselves of leaders in Africa, Latin America and all over the world.

This article strongly implies that the West was behind the assassination of Darya Dugina. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article. There is no evidence to substantiate the claims that the West or any other country was behind the assassination of Darya Dugina, the daughter of Alexander Dugin, in Moscow.Russia almost immediately accused Ukraine and pro-Kremlin media accused the EU and Western countries of the assassination, providing only dubious "evidence", (see also: here and here) that cannot be independently verified. The EU condemns all attacks on civilians, including the car explosion in the Moscow region which killed Ms. Darya Dugina on Saturday 20 August 2022. The EU considers a full and impartial investigation of the incident important.See related pro-Kremlin disinformation claims alleging various conspiracies against Russia by foreign secret services.See similar stories that British intelligence may be behind the assassination of Darya Dugina, that Ukraine, Estonia and Great Britain killed Darya Dugina.

Conspiracy theory, War in Ukraine

29.08.2022

Western masters of Ukraine wish for its death

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/western-masters-of-ukraine-wish-for-its-death

RIA,web.archive.org

Ukraine, Russia, Europe

Russian

The ”Crimea Platform” showed that the leaders of the West supported Ukraine in the fight against Russia “till the last Ukrainian”. They fan the flames of conflict. It showed, once again, that Ukraine is a bankrupt state, and its real masters openly wish for its death.

Pro-Kremlin disinformation about the Second Summit of the Crimea Platform presenting Ukraine as a failed state and a puppet dependent on the West.Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically-elected president and parliament. Ukraine has a functioning government and economy, it is a member of many international organisations (e.g. United Nations, Council of Europe), and a party to international agreements. Ukraine has bilateral diplomatic relations with the majority of countries.The West is not responsible for the war in Ukraine. Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity have been violated by continuous acts of aggression by Russian armed forces since 2014 culminating in a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022.The Western powers, including the European Union, support Ukrainian resistance in the face of Russian aggression and participated in the recent Crimea Platform, an international consultation and coordination format initiated by Ukraine. The Platform aims to increase the effectiveness of international response to the ongoing occupation of Crimea and mounting security threats, respond to growing security threats, increase international pressure on the Kremlin, prevent further human rights violations and protect victims of the occupation regime, and achieve the main goal – de-occupation of Crimea and its peaceful return to Ukraine.During the online meeting of the Crimea Platform on 23 August 2022, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said when addressing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: „Since Russia's full-blown assault in February, we have massively stepped up our economic, humanitarian and military support. We have welcomed over seven and a half million Ukrainian refugees into our homes. Our sanctions are critically undermining Putin's war machine and the Russian economy. EU solidarity lanes helped export over 10 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain. And we will continue to help you get the grain out, that has been stuck in Ukrainian ports, due to Russia's cynical blockade. The European Union will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.“European Council President Charles Michel stated in his speech at the Crimea Platform: “Crimea is Ukraine. I start with the same, clear message I had the opportunity to convey last year when I took part in the first Crimea Platform, in Kyiv, that you initiated, dear Volodymyr. The European Union does not and will not recognise the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine did not start on 24 February; it started in 2014, with the illegal annexation of Crimea.”See also more facts about the EU's solidarity with Ukraine here and here.See similar cases of disinformation representing Ukraine as the puppet of the West or Europe: London is helping Kyiv turn the country into a nuclear wasteland; Zelenskyy is a marionette puppet in the hand of the West; The West does not allow Ukraine to move to peace negotiations.

War in Ukraine, West, Puppets

29.08.2022

Ukraine wants to disrupt IAEA visit to Zaporizhzhya nuke power plant

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-wants-to-disrupt-iaea-visit-to-zaporizhzhya-nuke-power-plant

all-make.net

Ukraine, Russia

Russian

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office wants to disrupt a visit by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. Ukraine keeps on shelling it.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets accusing Ukraine of putting Europe on the verge of a nuclear catastrophe and with a view to deflect attention away from Russia's own occupation and military use of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.In reality, a delegation headed by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, has arrived in Ukraine because Kyiv requested such a visit since Russian troops took over the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. The IAEA said on its official site as early as June 2022:“Ukraine’s government had last week called on him (Grossi) to lead such a mission, and that the Ukrainian regulator had earlier informed the IAEA that it had ‘lost control over the facility’s nuclear material’.”Grossi himself said:“So we are going to Zaporizhzhya, as requested by Ukraine.”Russian media reports accusing Ukraine of shelling the power plant are unsubstantiated. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has warned about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhya NPP. A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider has shown that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armoured vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.See more disinformation cases about the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.

Nuclear issues, Invasion of Ukraine

29.08.2022

NATO may use Zaporizhzhia incident as a pretext to join combat in Ukraine

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/nato-may-use-zaporizhzhia-incident-as-a-pretext-to-join-combat-in-ukraine

actualidad-rt.com

Ukraine, US, Europe, Russia

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, US, Europe, Russia

Several Western politicians, such as British MP Tobias Ellwood and US representative Adam Kinzinger, have declared that a radiation leak in the nuclear plant of Zaporizhzhia as a consequence of the bombing may be a pretext for NATO to start taking part in the combat in Ukraine.

The claim is a disingenuous distortion of facts to support an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign about the incidents surrounding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Although it is true that both Tobias Ellwood and Adam Kinzinger mentioned NATO Article 5 in reference to the events in Zaporizhzhia, the meaning of their words was the opposite of what this disinformation story claims.On 19 August 2022, Tobias Ellwood wrote on his Twitter account: “ANY deliberate damage causing potential radiation leak to a Ukrainian nuclear reactor would be a breach of NATO’s Article 5”, linking it to a screen capture of an article from The Times with the headline: “Russia ‘plotting false-flag attack’ on nuclear plant”. Rep. Kinzinger replied to this tweet, adding: “This really isn’t even up for debate. Any leak will kill people in NATO countries, that’s an automatic article 5”.In this context, it is clear that both politicians are talking about how any deliberate Russian action leading to the spread of nuclear radiation in NATO countries should be considered an attack on them and prompt a coordinated defensive response as established in the Article 5 of the Atlantic Alliance Chart. This is radically different than affirming that NATO may use it as a “pretext” to join the combat in Ukraine, as this disinformation story does. The claim is part of a wider pro-Kremlin campaign accusing Ukraine and its allies of preparing a false-flag incident in Zaporizhzhia.See other examples of similar disinformation messages in our database, such as claims that the West is preparing possible CBRN provocations in Zaporizhzhia, that Washington and the Kyiv regime’s actions pose a threat of nuclear catastrophe, that Ukraine shelled this nuclear plant to deploy international peacekeeping forces, or that Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia plant show that the US does not accept defeat.

29.08.2022

NATO is creating the pretext for World War

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/nato-is-creating-the-pretext-for-world-war

RIA,RIA

Ukraine, Russia, Europe

Russian

NATO is creating the pretext for World War. The West has a plan to come into the conflict in Ukraine and is preparing to clash with Russia. It is more and more visible in the context of the crisis situation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which Ukraine is escalating every day with the support of the West.

A recurring disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine claiming that Ukraine is a puppet of the Western world and planning false flag provocations on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.The claims are not supported by evidence. There are many testimonials that it is Moscow using the situation with the power plant in its own interests. Russia forcefully took control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in March 2022, it shelled the plant with tanks, risking a radiation leak. Later, it disconnected the plant from international monitoring systems that monitor radiation levels in real-time and did not allow Ukraine to control the operations of the plant, even though some of Ukraine's staff stayed at the plant. Russia also forbids any international visits to the plant.There have also been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said. In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine. In fact, it has been confirmed by multiple sources that the Russian army is conducting provocations by shelling the territory of the nuclear power plant and the surrounding area. It also uses the plant as a shield from which it launches rockets and artillery rounds against the Ukraine-controlled cities. Russia turned the station into a military base. It uses reactor buildings as hiding places for its armaments, such as military trucks and armored vehicles.Read more about disinformation targeting Ukraine.

NATO, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

28.08.2022

Moldova is preparing for a new war against Transnistria

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/moldova-is-preparing-for-a-new-war-against-transnistria

Moldavskie Vedomosti,lenta.ru

Moldova, Russia

Russian

Moldova is preparing for a new war against Transnistria. Who needs a second front in Europe?

Pre-Kremlin disinformation narrative repeated many times over the past two years and also resumed since the latest Russian aggression against Ukraine, on February 24, 2022. See here a similar case claiming that US arms Moldova for war in Transnistria, and here a case saying Kyiv is pushing Moldova to aggression against Transnistria.The support, announced in June 2022, of 40 million euros from the EU for the Moldovan National Army and the Comment from July 2022 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Moldova requesting the withdrawal of the contingent of troops that the Russian Federation has since 1992 in the Transnistrian region, the de facto territory of Republic of Moldova, are presented as arguments for the claim above.The aid announced by the EU for Moldova is part of the European Peace Facility and "will strengthen the capacities of the logistics, mobility, command and control, cyber defense, unmanned aerial reconnaissance and tactical communications units of the Armed Forces of Moldova by providing non-lethal equipment, supplies and relevant services, including training related to the equipment". The statement made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not contain any reference to possible response actions in the event that Russia does not withdraw its troops from Transnistria: ”We also reiterate on this occasion, based on the constitutional neutrality of the Republic of Moldova, the relevant decisions adopted during the OSCE Summit in Istanbul in 1999 and in order to implement Resolution 72/282 of the UN General Assembly, the need for the Russian Federation to withdraw its military forces and ammunition from the territory of the Republic of Moldova”, is stated in the Comment of MFA made on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the launch of the peacekeeping operation in the Transnistrian region.The authorities of the Republic of Moldova denied several times that they have any intention of attacking Transnistria and emphasized that the only way to resolve the Transnistrian conflict is the peaceful one. The last statement in this regard was made by the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Moldova, Anatolie Nosatii, who said, on September 8, in an interview, that ”currently, there is no danger of war, of a military conflict on the territory of the country”.

War in Ukraine, Transnistria

28.08.2022

Dependency on US has devastated Ukraine

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/dependency-on-us-has-devastated-ukraine

svpressa.ru

Ukraine, Russia, US

Russian

The US interference in Ukraine’s politics has brought consequences comparable to nuclear bombardment which killed almost a half of Ukraine’s population. If Kyiv had pursued policies independent from the US, Ukraine would have become a rich country. It would have turned into the most developed European energy hub, and Crimea would have become a rich region attractive to Russian tourists. However, Ukraine was ruled by fools, and Zelenskyy turned out to be the dumbest of all. One has to be very dumb to get in conflict with Russia and hope for US assistance.

Recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative, challenging Ukraine’s statehood and trying to blame the West for the Russian invasion of Ukraine by painting Ukraine as a puppet of the West.Ukraine is a sovereign state with a democratically elected government and its own foreign and security policy. The country is not controlled by the US, EU or any other foreign organisation or government. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by most of the world but have been violated by Russia since 2014. Western countries are only supporting lethal military aid and financial aid to Ukraine for the country’s efficient self-defence against the unprovoked Russian invasion.The ‘lost sovereignty’ is one of the five major recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives. As explained in our analysis, it has also gained a special significance in the attempts of pro-Kremlin outlets to justify military aggression against Ukraine.

Sovereignty, War in Ukraine

28.08.2022

Ukraine's attack on Zaporizhzhia plant is nuclear terrorism

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraines-attack-on-zaporizhzhia-plant-is-nuclear-terrorism

sahafahn.com,pressbee.news,masralyoum.net,arabic.rt.com,newspaper.albaathmedia.sy

Ukraine

Arabic

Kyiv attacks on the Zaporizhzhia power plant is nuclear terrorism.The IAEA inspection of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant must be carried out despite Kyiv's attempts to obstruct this process, and their usage of nuclear sites as tools for blackmail and terror.

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power plant. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article. This is not the first time the Kremlin’s manipulation and disinformation machine has used a deep-seated and very reasonable fear of a nuclear disaster to advance its political and military goals in Ukraine.In fact, there have been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarization of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.Russia has been widely accused of using the plant as a shield from which to launch attacks. Using the plant in this way violates the Geneva Convention, which states that particular care must be taken if "installations containing dangerous forces" are located near the fighting. About 500 Russian troops are reported to be currently at the site.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labeled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.Read our article Playing with nuclear fire and the Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.For background see: disinformation targeting Ukraine.

Nuclear issues, Invasion of Ukraine, War in Ukraine

28.08.2022

The Kyiv regime actions around the Zaporizhzhia NPP is nuclear terrorism

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-kyiv-regime-actions-around-the-zaporizhzhia-npp-is-nuclear-terrorism

tlgrm.ru,iz.ru

Ukraine

Russian

What the Kyiv regime is doing around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is nuclear terrorism. Of course, it happens not only with those who have nuclear weapons or dirty nuclear weapons, as we now see.

This is an unsubstantiated claim by pro-Kremlin outlets about the situation on Zaporizhzhia NPP, made in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. This is not the first time the Kremlin’s manipulation and disinformation machine has used a deep-seated and very reasonable fear of a nuclear disaster to advance its political and military goals in Ukraine.In fact, there have been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarization of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.Russia has been widely accused of using the plant as a shield from which to launch attacks. Using the plant in this way violates the Geneva Convention, which states that particular care must be taken if "installations containing dangerous forces" are located near the fighting. About 500 Russian troops are reported to be currently at the site.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labeled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.Read our article Playing with nuclear fire and the Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. For background see: disinformation targeting Ukraine.

War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine, Maria Zakharova, Nuclear issues, Terrorism

26.08.2022

Only the ruling elite in Ukraine are Nazis, not ordinary Ukrainians

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/only-the-ruling-elite-in-ukraine-are-nazis-not-ordinary-ukrainians

eadaily.com,belta.by

Ukraine

Russian

Ukrainians are not "Nazis", except for the ruling elite.Be it Western (Ukrainians), there is nothing bad about them. They are not "Nazis" at all. "Nazis" are those who are on top, starting from those who sniff, drink and then blather from TV screens.

This is an new twist on the Nazi Ukraine narrative. One of the Kremlin’s most common disinformation narratives to justify its devastating war against Ukraine is the lie that Russia is pursuing the “denazification” of Ukraine. In reality, Ukraine is not a Nazi state, does not have a Nazi ruling elite and Nazism is not Ukraine’s ideology.The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been the cornerstone of Russian disinformation about the country since the very beginning of the 2013-14 Euromaidan protests, when it was used to discredit the pro-European popular uprising in Kyiv and, subsequently, the broader pro-Western shift in Ukraine's foreign policy.In 2015, Ukraine issued a ban on Nazi and Communist ideologies. On top of that, far-right groups had a limited presence during the Euromaidan protests and have suffered defeats in every national election after that, with a united front of all radical right-wing parties in the 2019 parliamentary elections winning only 2.15% of the vote falling far short of the 5% minimum guaranteeing entry into parliament.This false myth of Nazi Ukraine is a clear propaganda narrative and served as one of the pretexts behind Russia's unjustified invasion of Ukraine. More than 140 international historians have denounced Russia’s “equation of the Ukrainian state with the Nazi regime to justify its unprovoked aggression,” calling Moscow’s propaganda “factually wrong, morally repugnant and deeply offensive” to the “victims of Nazism."Learn more about the reasons behind the Kremlin's obsession with framing Ukraine as a Nazi state in the EUvsDisinfo analysis titled "Why does Putin portray himself as the tamer of neo-Nazism".See similar cases: Limited military operation liberates LPR from the Ukrainian Nazi rule; Zelenskyy is only a marketing operation, a Jewish face for a Nazi regime; The real power in Ukraine is in the hands of extremists and neo-Nazis.

Nazi/Fascist, War in Ukraine, Alexander Lukashenko, Invasion of Ukraine

26.08.2022

Russia destroyed the echelons of military equipment in Chaplyne railway station

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/russia-destroyed-the-echelons-of-military-equipment-in-chaplyne-railway-station

Rossiya 1

Ukraine

Russian

Unharmed Russian Iskanders reached the target in the Dnepropetrovsk region. There, at the Chaplyne railway station, echelons of military equipment and manpower of the enemy were destroyed. The footage clearly shows the train with cargo of military equipment. As a result of the hit by Iskanders', more than 200 Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers who were heading to the combat zone in the Donbas were eliminated.

The claim is part of an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign concerning Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine.On 24th August 2022, Ukraine's independence day, a Russian rocket strike hit a Ukrainian railway station in Chaplyne. 25 civilians were killed, including two children, and 31 were injured, including four children, as a result of Russia's missile strike. One of the wounded is a 13-year-old boy, who, along with his mother and 11-year-old brother, were buried in a building destroyed by the attack. It was not possible to save the 11-year-old boy. Two private houses were also destroyed and about 30 buildings were damaged. See footage by Reuters with comments from Radio Liberty's Ukrainian service.The EU strongly condemned the attack by Russia on civilians with HR VP Josep Borrell stating that those responsible for Russian rocket terror will be held accountable.US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that "Russia’s missile strike on a train station full of civilians in Ukraine fits a pattern of atrocities".Russian opposition Conflict Intelligence Team's analyst Ruslan Leviev called the strike a "war crime".Russian officials deny targeting a single civilian during the invasion of Ukraine calling it a "special military operation" and claims that all the videos proving the contrary are "staged" and that Ukraine kills its citizens itself.According to the UN on August 22, 5587 Ukrainian civilians were killed, including 362 children, 7890 people were injured since the start of the invasion on February 24, 2022. According to the UN, the real number of victims could be much higher.See more disinformation cases on the invasion of Ukraine.

Invasion of Ukraine

25.08.2022

The West is Nazi because it supports Nazism in Ukraine

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-west-is-nazi-because-it-supports-nazism-in-ukraine

Ukraine, Russia, EU

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia, EU

The West has lost all morals and is supporting Nazism in Ukraine, which means it is Nazi as well.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets discrediting the West and serving as justification for Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.The myth of a Nazi Europe has been widely used by pro-Kremlin outlets since Russia attacked Ukraine and illegally annexed its peninsula of Crimea in 2014. The European Union was set up with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars between neighbours, which culminated in the Second World War. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine appeared during the Revolution of Dignity (aka Euromaidan) protests in late 2013 - early 2014, when the then-president Viktor Yanukovych was toppled and later fled to Russia. The Kremlin has been using this myth since then to discredit Kyiv’s shift toward Euro-Atlantic policy. The far-right groups had a limited presence during the Euromaidan protests. Nazi and Communist ideologies were banned by Ukrainian law in 2015. During the 2019 presidential election, the highest-rated nationalist candidate, Ruslan Koshulynskyy, won 1.62% of the vote. A united front of all radical right-wing parties in the 2019 parliamentary elections winning only 2.15% of the vote falling far short of the 5% minimum threshold for entry into parliament.Read more disinformation cases claiming that the the EU is Hitler's 'New Europe', that the European Union justifies Nazism, that the The EU is a Nazi project, that the European Union has Nazi Roots and that the The EU continues the aggressive policies of Nazi.

25.08.2022

The emerging evidence confirms Kyiv’s complicity in the murder of Darya Dugina

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-emerging-evidence-confirms-kyivs-complicity-in-the-murder-of-darya-dugina

lantidiplomatico.it

Ukraine, Russia

Italian

The emerging evidence confirms Kyiv’s complicity in the murder of Darya Dugina.

Conspiracy theory and pro-Kremlin disinformation about the Ukraine.There is no evidence to substantiate the claims that Ukraine was behind the assassination of Darya Dugina in Moscow, daughter of Alexander Dugin.Russia has almost immediately accused Ukraine of the assassination, providing only dubious "evidence", (see also: here and here) that cannot be independently verified. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack.The EU condemns all attacks on civilians, including the car explosion in the Moscow region which killed Ms Darya Dugina on Saturday 20 August 2022. The EU considers a full and impartial investigation of the incident important.See related pro-Kremlin disinformation claims alleging various conspiracies against Russia by foreign secret services.Read similar cases claiming that Ukraine, Estonia and Great Britain killed Darya Dugina and that British intelligence may be behind the assassination of Darya Dugina.

War in Ukraine, Secret services

25.08.2022

Ukraine plans terrorist attacks to sow panic in Russia

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-plans-terrorist-attacks-to-sow-panic-in-russia

Ukraine, Russia

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia

The Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have the ability to resist the Russian army, so Kyiv resorts to the weapon of the weak - terrorism. The goal of the Kyiv regime is to intimidate the civilian population.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative and a conspiracy theory about Ukraine, aiming to justify Russia’s full scale invasion, alleging the country's political and military leadership is perpetrating attacks against civilians and organising terrorist acts.The claim appeared in the context of Ukraine’s counter-attacks targeting the Russian military on Ukrainian territory temporarily controlled by Russia.In reality, Ukraine is using high-precision weapons to strike Russian military targets on Ukrainian territory without affecting civilians.Ukraine does not intimidate civilians in Crimea or Donbas. Ukrainian forces target only military facilities in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned civilians of possible future strikes and called on them to stay away from military objects to be out of danger.It is Russian troops who are 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 other Ukrainian places.Kremlin-backed media outlets are levelling accusations against Ukraine without any evidence and calling defenders of Ukraine “nationalists”, “terrorists” , "Nazis", "militants" etc. For more information about tricks and rhetoric of pro-Kremlin disinformation read “A guide to deciphering pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's war”.Read more about the EU's response and support for Ukraine. See our account of the Kremlin's intention to annihilate Ukraine here.

24.08.2022

Ukraine and the West are preparing a nuclear provocation

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-and-the-west-are-preparing-a-nuclear-provocation

Rossiya 1,Rossiya 1,Rossiya 1,ren.tv

Ukraine, US, UK

Russian

Kyiv and the West are preparing a nuclear provocation - it's just completely obvious. We see an ever-increasing frequency of shelling, moreover, more and more targeted fire, which is carried out both at a nuclear power plant and a thermal power plant, and at the city of Energodar itself. We see indiscriminate shelling from American and British produced heavy artillery.

New satellite images from Maxar Technologies of the Zaporizhzya nuclear power plant show no signs of "systemic shelling," despite claims by Russian president Vladimir Putin that the Ukrainian military was conducting repeated military strikes at the plant, CNN reports. "In the last three weeks Russian troops have been using locations very very close if not inside, very much next to the nuclear power station, to shell across the river, using rockets...<> Houses were destroyed in a number of areas area of Russian shells. Russians complain that Ukrainians are hitting back but the satellite imagery indicates very very clearly that there has been no significant increase in the damage to Russia held location around the nuclear station for months", - indicates the channel showing the satellite imagery. Ukraine has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that renewed shelling in recent days caused additional damage in the area of the country’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), once again highlighting the serious nuclear safety and security risks facing the facility and underlining the urgent need for an IAEA expert mission to go there, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today, IAEA reports. See more disinformation cases on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Invasion of Ukraine, Nuclear issues

24.08.2022

Russia strictly observes humanitarian law and only hits military targets

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/russia-strictly-observes-humanitarian-law-and-only-hits-military-targets

iravunk.com

Ukraine

Armenian

Slowing down the pace of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine is a deliberate decision and is due to the desire to reduce the number of civilian casualties.During the special operation, we (Russian Armed Forces) strictly observe the rules of humanitarian law. We hit the military infrastructures, positions, control points, military airfields of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with high-precision weapons.Everything is being done to avoid casualties among the civilian population.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets about the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.The material and links may contain distressing/graphic content.What really aggravates the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is Russia’s targeting civilian infrastructure and residential areas, which has led to numerous victims among civilians. There is ample evidence of Russian military crimes in Ukraine in the town of Bucha, Mariupol, Kramatorsk, Odesa and other places.Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded 13,477 civilian casualties in the country: 5,587 killed and 7,890 injured by 22 August UN mission update, and at least 972 children in Ukraine have been killed or injured by 22 August UNICEF data.There is plenty of evidence of attacks on civilian targets: attacks on cultural properties; attacks on hospitals and medical care facilities; Mariupol theatre airstrike; Mariupol hospital airstrike; mass shelling of residential areas; bombing of Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Kremenchuk, etc.Attacks on health continue unabated, 473 WHO-verified attacks recorded this past half-year in Ukraine, resulting in at least 98 deaths and 134 injuries. Dozens of attacks were made also on ambulances, warehouses and stocks of medicines, valuable medical equipment.Read more about Russia's war crimes in Ukraine. Read OSCE Report on violations of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity commited in Ukraine since 24 February 2022.See other cases in our database: Accusations about Russian military war crimes are unacceptable: a lot of fakes on this topic; The Russian military does not strike civilian infrastructure.See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.

War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine, Sergey Shoigu, War crimes, war crimes

23.08.2022

Ukraine, Estonia and Great Britain killed Darya Dugina

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-estonia-and-great-britain-killed-darya-dugina

all-make.net

Ukraine, UK, Estonia

Russian

The terrorist act that killed Darya [Dugina] is a joint military operation, regretfully a successful one, of three secret services: Ukraine, Estonia and Great Britain.

Conspiracy theory and pro-Kremlin disinformation about the UK, Estonia and Ukraine as well as secret services. There is no evidence to substantiate the claims that Ukraine, UK, Estonia or any other country was behind the assassination of Darya Dugina in Moscow, daughter of Alexander Dugin. Russia has almost immediately accused Ukraine of the assassination, providing only dubious "evidence", (see also: here and here) that cannot be independently verified. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack, the same goes for Estonia. EU condemn all attacks on civilians, including the car explosion in the Moscow region which killed Ms Darya Dugina on Saturday 20 August 2022. The EU consider a full and impartial investigation of the incident important.See related pro-Kremlin disinformation claims alleging various conspiracies against Russia by foreign secret services. This disinformation claim appeared in the same broadcast as an allegation that British intelligence may be behind the assassination of Darya Dugina and that Ukraine is a terrorist state.

War in Ukraine, Secret services

23.08.2022

Western weapons are stolen long before they reach the Ukrainian soldiers

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/western-weapons-are-stolen-long-before-they-reach-the-ukrainian-soldiers

es.news-front.info,News Front - German,pl.news-front.info,fr.news-front.info

Ukraine, US

Spanish, German, Polish, French

Almost all the weapons and humanitarian aid that the West provides for the needs of the Ukrainian military are stolen on the way and do not reach the soldiers.

Pro-Kremlin narrative about the necessity to stop support and deliveries of weapons to Ukraine which will not be used to defend against Russian aggression anyway.The story is based on a report by Grayzone from the Ukrainian front which focused on missing equipment and that no deliveries were being made. There is no investigation of the weapons convoys themselves and no evidence that weapons are stolen on a significant scale is provided. It is true that delivery issues have occurred since the country is at war and logistics to deliver from Western borders to a very large front line are challenging, however CBS notes that the quality of the logistics improved over the past months. Moreover, U.S. defense attaché Brigadier General Garrick M. Harmon arrived in Kyiv in August 2022 for arms control and monitoring. It has been documented that Western equipment has reached the front line and made a difference in the fight.Read also related stories : West continues to supply weapons to Kyiv to prolong the conflict, Finland has been dragged into a new Barbarossa operation against Russia, Western weapons sent to Ukraine captured by Russia: case of two French Caesar howitzers.

humanitarian aid, Corruption, Invasion of Ukraine, War in Ukraine, Ukraine

23.08.2022

Ukraine proclaimed the death penalty for “Pink Floyd” founder Roger Waters

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-proclaimed-the-death-penalty-for-pink-floyd-founder-roger-waters

Laivaslaikrastis.lt

Ukraine

Lithuanian

Ukraine proclaimed the death penalty for “Pink Floyd” founder Roger Waters. He was added to the “Mirotvorec” list.

The message is misleading and linked to disinformation about the war in Ukraine.One of the founders of the rock band “Pink Floyd”, Rogers Waters, was indeed included on the “Mirotvorec” (“The Peacekeeper”) list for his public claims about the status of Crimea. However, this list is a private initiative and the Mirotvorec centre has no connections to the official authorities of Ukraine and they have not issued a death sentence against him.See more information about disinformation targeting Ukraine.

War in Ukraine

23.08.2022

The President of Ukraine is controlled by the US, Germany and France

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-president-of-ukraine-is-controlled-by-the-us-germany-and-france

livenews.am

Ukraine

Armenian

Despite all the public statements about the right of Kyiv to self-determination, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron decide what Zelenskyy should do.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative questioning Ukrainian statehood and sovereignty. The statement was made in the context of the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, trying once again to denigrate Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a non-sovereign puppet of the West.The claim that decisions on Ukraine are made by France or Germany is unsubstantiated. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the democratically elected leader of Ukraine.Pro-Kremlin media outlets often cast doubts on Ukrainian statehood and claim that Ukraine is not a real state and is going to tumble down very soon. In reality, present-day Ukraine has been on the world map since 1991 when the Soviet Union disintegrated.Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically-elected president and parliament. Ukraine has a functioning government and economy, it is a member of many international organisations (e.g. United Nations, Council of Europe), and a party to international agreements. Ukraine has bilateral diplomatic relations with the majority of countries.Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity have been violated by continuous acts of aggression by Russian armed forces since 2014 culminating in a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022.Read more about the EU's response and support for Ukraine.See our guide to deciphering pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's war.See our account of the Kremlin's intention of the annihilation of Ukraine here.

Sovereignty, Puppets, Ukrainian statehood, Emmanuel Macron, Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky

23.08.2022

The US is pushing Europe into the abyss

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-us-is-pushing-europe-into-the-abyss

baltnews.com

Russia, Ukraine, US, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Czech Republic, Finland, Europe

Russian

The US is pushing Europe into the abyss because they forced the EU to abandon Russian sources of energy, break the economic cooperation with Russia, and close Europe to Russian citizens. The main puppets of the US in Europe are the United Kingdom and non-sovereign states such as Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine. Poland, the Czech Republic and Finland follow this Russophobic coalition too. Washington wants to keep the world under its control and is ready to sacrifice the welfare of European states for this task.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about sanctions and presenting Europe as the puppet of the US. See our article Key Narratives in Pro-Kremlin Disinformation Part 3: ‘Lost Sovereignty’.Contrary to the claim, the European Union is a sovereign entity created by the voluntary initiative of European nations and it has its own, independent foreign policy, while the US has no say in its decisions. Economic sanctions, including sanctions on the energy sector, were implemented by European Union as a reaction to the unjustified actions of Russia. The first sanctions were imposed in 2014 after Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea. The European Union is implementing sanctions on Russia on its own initiative but also coordinates with partners, including the US. See more information about the EU’s sanctions on Russia. See also information on how the EU has been supporting Ukraine since the start of the war on 24 February 2022.Finally, with regard to the comment about banning Russians from entering Europe, a decision to ban Schengen visas for Russian citizens has not been made yet. It will be a topic of discussion at a meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Prague at the end of August 2022. See similar case here.See similar cases: The European Union has finally lost its political sovereignty; The USA is rising imperialistic Poland as a new hyena for Europe; Decisions on Ukraine are not made by Zelenskyy, but by the high ranking officials in the US.

Sanctions, Puppets, Russophobia

23.08.2022

Ukraine shells Zaporizhzhia station daily using heavy US weapons

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-shells-zaporizhzhia-station-daily-using-heavy-us-weapons

elfagr.org,farsnews.ir,arabic.rt.com,ru4arab.ru,Al Minasa Press,nabd.com,misrnews.com,alahednews.com.lb,darelhilal.com,rosaelyoussef.com,ellmada.com,almehwartoday.com,maspero.egShow more

Russia, Ukraine, US

Arabic

The nuclear security situation at the plant has deteriorated over the past few weeks, as the Ukrainian military shelled the plant with heavy US weapons on an almost daily basis.This creates a real danger that could lead to a radioactive accident at the station, which threatens the entire European continent.

A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine attacking the Zaporizhzhia power plant. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article. No evidence was provided to back the claim that Ukraine is shelling the Zaporizhzhia power plant. In fact, there has been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said. Russian forces likely use the territory of the plant to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.Additionally, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and established firing positions.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.See similar article that Ukrainian forces fired missiles at the Zaporizhzhia station and Russian defences repels them; Ukraine shells nuclear plant to deploy international peacekeeping forces; Ukrainian militants are shelling the nuclear station in Zaporizhzhia; IAEA president warns of nuclear catastrophe after Kyiv shells Zaporizhzhia; Ukraine must be forced to stop shelling Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant; Russia has not attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Nuclear issues, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

22.08.2022

Ukraine turned into a terrorist state

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-turned-into-a-terrorist-state

asd.news

Ukraine, Russia, Europe

Russian

The murder of Daria Dugina, who in theory was supposed to die along with her father Alexander Dugin, a prominent philosopher and political figure, finally puts an end to the "evolution" of Ukraine as a terrorist state. In the current realities, it is quite obvious that, under the guise of a “struggle for independence,” official Kyiv is destroying dissidents, those who are ideologically alien to the new Ukraine. Today, the collective West continues to ignore the criminal, terrorist essence of the Kyiv regime, sometimes even justifying certain “actions of intimidation” organised by Ukrainian politicians and the military.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative and a conspiracy theory about Ukraine alleging the country's political and military leadership is perpetrating attacks against civilians and organising terrorist acts. The assassination of Darya Dugina took place in Moscow on August 20, when her car blew up and burned out. Pro-Kremlin propagandists immediately accused Ukraine. Later, Russian officials announced that Ukraine was behind the assassination, even though the provided "evidence" are dubious (see also: here and here) and cannot be independently verified.Ukraine denied the accusations. EU condemn all attacks on civilians, including the car explosion in the Moscow region which killed Ms Darya Dugina on Saturday 20 August 2022. The EU consider a full and impartial investigation of the incident important.An organisation called The National Republican Army took responsibility for the accident. Former Russian MP Ilya Ponomarev claims that the organisation represents a Russian partisan movement dedicated to overthrowing the Putin regime. This disinformation claim appeared in the same broadcast as an allegation that British intelligence may be behind the assassination of Darya Dugina and that Ukraine is a terrorist state.

Invasion of Ukraine, War in Ukraine, Ukraine, Terrorism

22.08.2022

Western sanctions are the cause of inflation

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/western-sanctions-are-the-cause-of-inflation

pressn.net,nabdn.com,arabic.rt.com,rtarabic.com,memilitary.com,2lkhbr.com

Europe, US, Russia, Ukraine

Arabic

The rise in food and energy prices began with the coronavirus pandemic; during the past six months, the world witnessed more price increases due to the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia, which led to a sharp decrease in supply due to the severing of logistical and financial chains. The United States and its allies wanted to deprive Russia of profits and destroy its economy, and as a result caused great harm to the whole world, including to itself. This is an attempt to deflect responsibility from the Americans and Europeans to Russia.

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about sanctions in the context of the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.The claim that sanctions are the cause of inflation is an attempt to deflect Russia's responsibility for the global food crisis. Large-scale wars are, by definition, bound to cause global supply shocks that trigger inflation. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has destabilised global food markets and is driving food prices up due to increased cost of production, transport and freight insurance. Russia has also destroyed substantial food stocks, production, as well as processing and transport capacities in Ukraine.Logisitically, EU sanctiond do not include trade with Ukraine. As for trade with Russia, the sanctions do not include the import of agricultural products unless a sanctioned individual is involved. Moreover, the sanctions only cover bilateral trade between the EU and Russia, meaning that third countries can import Russian agrifood products without restriction. The US also exempts transactions for food, agricultural products and medical supplies from sanctions.Financially, EU sanctions excluded a limited number of Russian banks from the SWIFT network. However, banking relations via SWIFT can still continue as normal via the other Russian banks.Read also related cases: Western sanctions cause food crisis and price growth, Sanctions against Russia worsen the economic crisis in the West, The EU lost more from sanctions than Russia, European sanctions against Russia do not work.

Economic difficulties, economy, Sanctions, Invasion of Ukraine, Trade, War in Ukraine

22.08.2022

Germany doesn’t want energy solidarity but vassalage

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/germany-not-want-energy-solidarity-but-vassalage

actualidad-rt.com

Germany, Spain, Portugal

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Germany, Spain, Portugal

When Germany looked to Spain and Portugal after remembering that it could extract gas or build a long-forgotten pipeline there, it did so not in a spirit of solidarity, but to demand vassalage. A vassalage devoid of any sense of solidarity, since it is not about rich citizens helping disadvantaged citizens, but quite the opposite, it is about the disadvantaged, and once aggrieved – those lazy and unbearable PIGS – ipso facto handing over as much gas as possible, even if they need it. So it is not a question of citizens who have a lot giving up what they have left over so that those in a precarious situation can survive or improve their plight; it is a question of citizens with fewer resources going through hardship so that those with more resources can continue to live their affluent lives.

This disinformation narrative aims to stir up discontent and animosity against Germany among the Spanish citizens. In fact, in terms of energy, both Spain and Portugal have more than enough supply to cover their needs due to their long-term investment in renewable energy and LNG plants and are able to provide up to 30% of Europe’s natural gas demand. Some of the energy measures adopted by the European Commission are indeed the result of a joint proposal presented by Portugal and Spain, not demands in Germany's self-interest, as this disinformation message implies.The ultimate goal of this disinformation message is to erode European mutual trust and to prevent the adoption of European solidarity measures that may soften the impact of Russia’s energy blackmail against the EU. In late July 2022, the EU already adopted some measures in this regard, such as the voluntary reduction of natural gas demand.See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that Germany maintains dominance of the EU bloc through keeping the rest of the countries weak, that the sovereignty of EU countries is fiction, or that the European Union is merely a market aiming to destroy nation-states.

22.08.2022

The EU will train terrorists and Nazi militants for the Kyiv regime

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-eu-will-train-terrorists-and-nazi-militants-for-the-kyiv-regime

vedomosti.ru,Moskva 24,regnum.ru,eadaily.com,RIA,rg.ru

Ukraine, EU, Russia

Russian

According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, the EU will create training bases to train terrorists and Nazi militants for the Kyiv regime. Earlier Josep Borrell stated that one of the EU countries will host a training mission for Ukrainian soldiers.

This message fits the recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about ‘Nazi Ukraine’.On 22 August 2022 the EU's Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell announced a proposal to create a "powerful training and organisation mission" in one of the EU countries to help the Ukrainian army. This proposal is set to be discussed among EU Defence Ministers in Prague on 29 and 30th August.Any such development would be a legitimate form of EU assistance to Ukraine, a sovereign country resisting unprovoked military aggression, which threatens its territorial integrity, national sovereignty, health and lives of its civilians.Russia started a military intervention of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 under the pretext of the “de-Nazification and demilitarisation” of Ukraine. Russia had earlier issued assurances to both Ukraine and the whole world that it was not planning to invade Ukraine. The EU condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine and imposed restrictive measures on Russia. EU sanctions are directed against the Russian government, the financial sector and the economic elites, targeting the Kremlin's ability to finance the military aggression. The EU countries provide Ukraine with political, economic, humanitarian and military support.Read more disinformation cases about the Russian unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.Technical remark: This disinformation was broadcast via Sputnik and other pro-Kremlin outlets on 22 August 2022. Due to the EU decision to restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the links may not work inside the EU.

Josep Borrell, Maria Zakharova, Nazi/Fascist, Terrorism, War in Ukraine

22.08.2022

Darya Dugina was killed by Ukrainian terrorists

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/darya-dugina-was-killed-by-ukrainian-terrorists

antimaydan.info

Ukraine, Russia, EU, UK, US

Russian

A SUV, in which the daughter of the famous philosopher, ideologist Alexander Dugin, Darya, was driving, was blown up. The main version, which is voiced in the media, is that a homemade bomb went off. Family friends have no doubts: this is a terrorist attack committed by Ukrainian saboteurs with the help of Western intelligence services.

Conspiracy theory and pro-Kremlin disinformation about Ukraine. There is no evidence to substantiate the claims that Ukraine was behind the assassination of Darya Dugina in Moscow, daughter of Alexander Dugin. Russia has almost immediately accused Ukraine of the assassination, providing only dubious "evidence", (see also: here and here) that cannot be independently verified. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack. The EU condemns all attacks on civilians, including the car explosion in the Moscow region which killed Ms Darya Dugina on Saturday 20 August 2022. The EU considers a full and impartial investigation of the incident important.This disinformation claim appeared in the same broadcast as an allegation that British intelligence may be behind the assassination of Darya Dugina or that Ukraine, Estonia, and UK killed Darya Dugina.

Ukraine, Terrorism, false flag, Invasion of Ukraine

22.08.2022

Ukrainian attacks at Zaporizhzhia power plant are coordinated with the US and UK

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukrainian-attacks-at-zaporizhzhia-power-plant-are-coordinated-with-the-us-and-uk

Ukraine

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine

All shameless attacks by Ukrainian militants on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are coordinated with Zelenskyy's Western stooges - Washington and London. There is indirect evidence that all this is being done on the orders of and overseen by the US and the UK. Zelenskyy regime's main intelligence agency has confirmed that none of the attacks are being carried out without American approval.

No evidence is provided to back the claims being made. The recurring claim that Ukraine carries out false flag attacks is designed to deflect blame for the war atrocities away from its real perpetrators.The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said. Russian forces likely use the territory of the plant to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.Russia has been blaming Ukraine for the alleged shelling of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP for weeks. Russian forces likely use the territory of the NPP to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.See more disinformation narratives on "Nazis in Ukraine" and war crimes. For background see: disinformation targeting Ukraine.

22.08.2022

Ukrainian secret services are behind the murder of the daughter of Alexander Dugin

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukrainian-secret-services-are-behind-the-murder-of-the-daughter-of-alexander-dugin

lantidiplomatico.it

Russia, Ukraine

Italian

Ukrainian secret services are behind the murder of the daughter of the Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin

Conspiracy theory and pro-Kremlin disinformation about Ukraine as well as secret services.There is no evidence to substantiate the claims that Ukraine was behind the assassination of Darya Dugina in Moscow, daughter of Alexander Dugin.Russia has almost immediately accused Ukraine of the assassination, providing only dubious "evidence", (see also: here and here) that cannot be independently verified. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack, the same goes for Estonia.The EU condemns all attacks on civilians, including the car explosion in the Moscow region which killed Ms Darya Dugina on Saturday 20 August 2022. The EU considers a full and impartial investigation of the incident important.See related pro-Kremlin disinformation claims alleging various conspiracies against Russia by foreign secret services.

War in Ukraine, Secret services

22.08.2022

Ukraine is about to create a nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-is-about-to-create-a-nuclear-disaster-at-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant

asd.news

Ukraine

Russian

The Ukrainian Nazis know that they are not able to re-capture the liberated territories. According to the formula “either Ukrainian or deserted” they need to be turned into radioactive wastelands. The still unliberated lands of Novorossia will turn into a desert too, and [its liberation] will become problematic.The Dnipro river will be poisoned by radiation. That will seriously complicate life in Crimea, and its role as a health resort will have to be forgotten. The tourism business will collapse.

No evidence is provided to back the claims being made. The recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation claim that Ukraine carries out false flag attacks is designed to deflect blame for the war atrocities away from their real perpetrators.The Ukrainian authorities refuted the allegations of the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.President of the European Council Charles Michel emphasized that "Russia's actions are risking a nuclear disaster". He also insisted that Russia must stop its actions and to "immediately give access to UN experts". Charles Michel supported the idea of a demilitarised zone around the nuclear power plant. Russia has been blaming Ukraine for the alleged shelling of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP for weeks. Russian forces likely use the territory of the NPP to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.See more disinformation cases about the Zaporizhzhia NPP: Ukrainian forces want to destroy Zaporizhzhia NPP; London is helping Kyiv turn the country into a nuclear wasteland; Ukraine must be forced to stop shelling Zaporizhzhia NPP.

Invasion of Ukraine, Terrorism, Ukraine, Nuclear issues, UN

22.08.2022

London is helping Kyiv turn the country into a nuclear wasteland

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/london-is-helping-kyiv-turn-the-country-into-a-nuclear-wasteland

antimaydan.info

Ukraine, Russia, UK

Russian

Zelenskyy urgently needs to shell the lost territories, despite the deaths of civilians, to “get” to Crimea, and portray terrorist acts as a “resistance movement”. By the way, “Western friends” help the Kyiv regime hide the actions of the terrorists. Great Britain is especially zealous in this one.London is also zealous in turning the territory of Ukraine into a "nuclear swamp".

No evidence is provided to back the claims being made. The recurring claim that Ukraine plans false flag attacks is designed to deflect blame for the war atrocities away from the real perpetrators.On the contrary, when Russia forcefully took control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in March 2022, it shelled the plant with tanks, risking a radiation leak. Later, it disconnected the plant from international monitoring systems that monitor radiation levels in real-time and did not allow Ukraine to control the operations of the plant, even though some of Ukraine's staff stayed at the plant. Russia also forbids any international visits to the plant.There have also been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said. Russian forces likely use the territory of the plant to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.Additionally, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armoured vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine. In fact, it has been confirmed by multiple sources that the Russian army is conducting provocations by shelling the territory of the nuclear power plant and the surrounding area. It also uses the plant as a shield from which it launches rockets and artillery rounds against the Ukraine-controlled cities. Russia turned the station into a military base. It uses reactor buildings as hiding places for its armaments, such as military trucks and armored vehicles.Read more about disinformation targeting Ukraine.

Invasion of Ukraine, War in Ukraine, Terrorism

22.08.2022

Ukrainians and the West say there are no pagan Nazis in Ukraine despite evidence

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukrainians-and-the-west-say-there-are-no-pagan-nazis-in-ukraine-despite-evidence

arabic.rt.com,rtarabic.com

Ukraine, Russia

Arabic

Ukraine claims that "There are no Nazis in the country." Ukrainians insist that the Russian authorities created the Nazi threat to attack Ukraine. This Ukrainian claim ignores the numerous atrocities committed by the Azov and Aidar battalions in Donbas. The West is also still convinced that there is no Nazi ideology in Ukraine. However, the Ukrainian Nazis are openly making themselves more visible. The pagan anti-Christianity beliefs of the Azov battalion is that, Christianity is the religion of slaves and a racial holy war will eventually break out in Rakhova. That is why the Nazis dealt so harshly with priests and Orthodox Christians in the war zone.

This is a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Nazi Ukraine, presented as justification for Russian military aggression against Ukraine, which started on 24 February 2022. In reality, Ukraine is not a Nazi state and Nazism is not Ukraine’s ideology. Pro-Kremlin outlets often use unfounded conspiracy theories to discredit the West and Ukraine, accusing them of being Russophobic, deliberately destroying societies, starting with family, religion, spirituality and culture, eliminating all forms of collective identity.Pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets have employed Satan and symbols associated with evil forces to prop up their disinformation efforts.The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been the cornerstone of Russian disinformation about the country since the very beginning of the 2013-14 Euromaidan protests, when it was used to discredit the pro-European popular uprising in Kyiv and, subsequently, the broader pro-Western shift in Ukraine's foreign policy. In 2015, Ukraine issued a ban on Nazi and Communist ideologies. On top of that, far-right groups had a limited presence during the Euromaidan protests and have suffered defeats in every national election after that, with a united front of all radical right-wing parties in the 2019 parliamentary elections winning only 2.15% of the vote falling far short of the 5% minimum guaranteeing entry into parliament.See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.

Nazi/Fascist, Christianity, Orthodox Church, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

22.08.2022

Ukrainian authorities want to get more Western weapons by provoking Russia to shell Kyiv

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukrainian-authorities-want-to-get-more-western-weapons-by-provoking-russia-to-shell-kyiv

Ukraine, Russia, US, UK

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia, US, UK

In the run-up to Ukraine’s Independence Day of 24 August, Ukrainian authorities planned to organise terrorist acts in Russia. Volodymyr Zelenskyy needs them to raise the moral of neo-Nazi activists and to get more Western weapons. Ukrainian authorities want to provoke Russia into a retaliatory attack on Kyiv downtown and to show its consequences to the world. Kyiv is a great Russian city and it has few military targets. The decision-making centres are primarily located in London and Washington.

This article promotes recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about unsovereign and ‘Nazi Ukraine’, Ukraine as part of the ‘Russian world’, and spreads a conspiracy about an attempt by the Ukrainian authorities to obtain more Western military support by provoking Russia’s shelling of downtown Kyiv.Russia started broadscale military intervention of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 under the pretext of the “de-Nazification and demilitarisation” of Ukraine. Russia had earlier issued assurances to both Ukraine and the whole world that it was not planning to invade Ukraine. The EU condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine and imposed restrictive measures on Russia. EU sanctions are directed against the Russian government, the financial sector and the economic elites, targeting the Kremlin's ability to finance the military aggression. The EU countries provide Ukraine with political, economic, humanitarian and military support.Naming Kyiv a “great Russian city” is a manifestation of the imperial Russian and Russian revanchist ideology of "all-Russian big nation". Ukraine is a well-defined nation-state with a long history and its own literature and identity, despite foreign rule for long periods of time. Furthermore, calling London and Washington the "major decision-making centres" is an attempt to present Ukraine as unsovereign (see our article Key Narratives in Pro-Kremlin Disinformation Part 3: ‘Lost Sovereignty’) and controlled by 'Anglo-Saxons'.Read more disinformation cases about the Russian unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.Technical remark: This disinformation was broadcast via Sputnik on 22 August 2022. Due to the EU decision to restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.

22.08.2022

British intelligence may be behind the assassination of Darya Dugina

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/british-intelligence-may-be-behind-the-assassination-of-darya-dugina

all-make.net

UK

Russian

The cruelty and nastiness [of this crime] may indicate that the Western intelligence agencies may be behind it. For example the British ones.It is no coincidence that the British "Daily Mail" has published a mocking, even dehumanizing article, calling Dugin the architect of military conflict in Ukraine, "Putin's Rasputin" and "brains of the Russian president". What nonsense.Russophobic scribbler is delighting in monstrous details, writing that Daria was blown to pieces. It is no wonder that with this sense of morality and approach to facts the British army is being officially prepared for war with Russia.

Conspiracy theory and pro-Kremlin disinformation about the UK and secret services. There is no evidence to substantiate the claims that UK's intelligence service was behind the assassination of Darya Dugina in Moscow, daughter of Alexander Dugin. The British outlet "Daily Mail" has reported on the assassination of Darya Dugina, as have multiple international media outlets. There is no evidence whatsoever to link the reports of the "Daily Mail" to British intelligence services. Russia has also accused Ukraine of the assassination, providing only dubious "evidence", (see also: here and here) that cannot be independently verified. Ukraine has denied any involvement in the attack. See related disinformation claims alleging that The ears of MI6 stick out from everything that happens in Kazakhstan; Holodomor was a story invented by a British spy; UK is pushing Ukraine to fight Russia promising assistance with nuclear strike. This disinformation claim appeared in the same broadcast as an allegation that Ukraine, Estonia and Great Britain killed Darya Dugina and that Ukraine is a terrorist state.

War in Ukraine, Secret services

22.08.2022

The EU will create bases to train terrorists and Nazi fighters for the Kyiv regime

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-eu-will-create-bases-to-train-terrorists-and-nazi-fighters-for-the-kyiv-regime

regnum.ru,iravunk.com,iz.ru,baltnews.com,life.ru,vedomosti.ru

EU, Ukraine

Russian, Armenian

The European Union intends to create training bases for the Kyiv regime to "train" terrorists and militants, hiding behind the creation of a mission to train Ukrainian soldiers.The EU will create training bases for training terrorists and Nazi fighters for the Kyiv regime.A hundred years ago, Europeans also did not immediately understand what fascism was.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the EU's alleged support for terrorism and Nazism. This false claim, also distorts a statement from EU High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell. The EU will discuss launching a major training programme for Ukrainian forces in neighbouring countries, Josep Borrell said. "Of course, it would be a big mission, any mission has to be up to the level of the conflict. It seems reasonable that a war that is lasting and looks set to last requires an effort not only in terms of supplies of material," Borrell said.Kremlin-backed media outlets are levelling accusations against Ukraine without any evidence and calling defenders of Ukraine “nationalists”, “terrorists” , "Nazis", "militants" etc. For more information about tricks and rhetoric of pro-Kremlin disinformation read “A guide to deciphering pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's war”.The accusation of Nazism and building a link to Nazi Germany is one of the favourite techniques of pro-Kremlin outlets. Read our past analysis Nazi east, Nazi west, Nazi over the cuckoo's nest. Nazi and Communist ideologies were banned by Ukrainian law in 2015.Multiple countries around the world support Ukraine's defense against Russia' military aggression with deliveries of weapons, ammunition and military equipment, including multiple NATO allies, Australia, Japan, and others.Western nations are sending weapons to Ukraine with the sole purpose of helping it repel the Russian aggression. Western weapons are expected to enable Ukraine to liberate its territories and restore its territorial integrity within the internationally recognised borders.Many also countries are supporting Ukraine with military, political and humanitarian aid and are simultaneously trying to find a diplomatic solution to the war against Ukraine.Read more about the EU's response and support for Ukraine. See our account of the Kremlin's intention to annihilate Ukraine here.

Terrorism, Josep Borrell, Military, Nazi/Fascist, Maria Zakharova

22.08.2022

Zelenskyy didn’t warn Ukrainians about Russia’s offensive to save his own government

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/zelenskyy-didnt-warn-ukrainians-about-russias-offensive-to-save-his-own-government

t.me

Ukraine, Russia

Russian

In a recent interview, Volodymyr Zelenskyy confessed that he didn’t warn the Ukrainian population about the Russian offensive, in order to save his own government. According to the words of the Ukrainian leader, he knew beforehand that Russia would launch a military operation, but decided to pretend that it wouldn’t happen, so citizens wouldn’t abandon the country.

The claim is a deliberate distortion of the original interview granted by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to The Washington Post and published on 16 August 2022. The goal of this narrative is to try to discredit Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation, by portraying him as a selfish leader who doesn’t care about the Ukrainian people.Zelenskyy never uses the words “offensive” or “military operation”, euphemisms used by pro-Kremlin media to refer to the unjustified Russian aggression against Ukraine. Moreover, Zelenskyy doesn’t say that he chose not to warn the population in order to save his own government, but that creating panic among the Ukrainian population would have been self-defeating and may have destroyed Ukraine’s economy, especially given that Ukrainian authorities believed that the invasion may ultimately not take place.In the interview, as well as in an accompanying long article about the run-up to the aggression, Zelenskyy and other members of his cabinet explained that US intelligence about the upcoming attack was considered vague and inconclusive “until four or five days before the invasion began”, namely until the Munich Security Conference on 18-20 February, when Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba received specific information about Russia’s attack plans.This second article includes long explanations about why Ukrainian authorities chose this path:“We had to strike a balance between realistically assessing the risks and preparing the country for the worst … and keeping the country running economically and financially,” Kuleba said. “Every comment coming from the United States about the unavoidability of war was immediately reflected in the [Ukrainian] currency exchange rate.”And:“We took all of the information that our Western partners were giving us seriously,” recalled [Andriy] Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff. “But let’s be honest: Imagine if all of this panic that so many people were pushing had taken place. Creating panic is a method of the Russians. … Imagine if this panic had started three or four months beforehand. What would’ve happened to the economy? Would we have been able to hold on for five months like we have?”.In the interview, Zelenskyy’s exact words are:“You can’t simply say to me, “Listen, you should start to prepare people now and tell them they need to put away money, they need to store up food.” If we had communicated that — and that is what some people wanted, who I will not name — then I would have been losing $7 billion a month since last October, and at the moment when the Russians did attack, they would have taken us in three days. I’m not saying whose idea it was, but generally, our inner sense was right: If we sow chaos among people before the invasion, the Russians will devour us. Because during chaos, people flee the country. And that’s what happened when the invasion started — we were as strong as we could be. Some of our people left, but most of them stayed here, they fought for their homes. And as cynical as it may sound, those are the people who stopped everything. If that were to happen, in October — God forbid, during the heating season — there would be nothing left. Our government wouldn’t exist, that’s 100 percent sure.”Although this argument can be controversial, it is certainly very different than “confessing that he didn’t warn the Ukrainian population to save his own government”. Seen in context, it is very clear that the words of Volodymyr Zelenskyy refer to the government Ukrainians chose to put in power through democratic elections instead of the puppet administration that Russia intended to install after the invasion, not to Zelenskyy’s own political faction, as this disinformation story disingenuously affirms.See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that Zelenskyy gets military advice from his 9-year old son, that decisions on Ukraine are not made by Zelenskyy but by the high-ranking officials in the US, that Zelenskyy wants to cede Ukrainian territory to Poland, or that Zelenskyy is only a marketing operation, a Jewish face for a Nazi regime.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukrainian statehood, War in Ukraine

20.08.2022

Zelenskyy is a marionette puppet in the hands of the West

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/zelenskyy-is-a-marionette-puppet-in-the-hands-of-the-west

ru4arab.ru,newnews4.com,menkuwait.com,wafaamagazine.org

Ukraine, Russia, UK, US

Arabic

No sane person could argue about the nature of the ongoing military conflict as a world war taking place in the Ukrainian fields. In this war, the West and NATO mobilised all their money and weapons, with direct American and British management of the field battles, while controlling a “marionette puppet”, that is the Ukrainian Jewish-Zionist President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative questioning Ukrainian statehood and sovereignty. The statement was made in the context of the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine, trying once again to denigrate Ukraine and its president for being Jewish and a non-sovereign puppet of the West.Pro-Kremlin media outlets often cast doubts on Ukrainian statehood and claim that Ukraine is not a real state and is going to tumble down very soon. In reality, present-day Ukraine has been on the world map since 1991 when the Soviet Union disintegrated.Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically-elected president and parliament. Ukraine has a functioning government and economy, it is a member of many international organisations (e.g. United Nations, Council of Europe), and a party to international agreements. Ukraine has bilateral diplomatic relations with the majority of countries.Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity have been violated by continuous acts of aggression by Russian armed forces since 2014 culminating in a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022.Read more about the EU's response and support for Ukraine.See our guide to deciphering pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's war.

Invasion of Ukraine, War in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, NATO, West, Puppets

19.08.2022

Europe’s anti-Russian sanctions slapped under US pressure

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/europes-anti-russian-sanctions-slapped-under-us-pressure

tass.com

Ukraine, Russia, EU, Belarus

English

The decisions by EU states to shun Russian energy resources, cut economic cooperation with Russia and ban Russians from entering were taken under pressure from Washington.

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets claiming that the EU is not independent in its policies. A well known narrative of "Lost Sovereignty".In reality, the European Union and some separate European nations have imposed sanctions on Russia because of Moscow’s unprovoked invasion against Ukraine that started on 24 February 2022. These measures were taken in full accordance with international and European law. The European Commission adopted a joint proposal for a new package of restrictive measures on 15 June 2022 to maintain and strengthen the effectiveness of the EU's six wide-ranging packages of sanctions against Russia. It also further aligns the EU's sanctions with those of our allies and partners, in particular in the G7.President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said in connection with this proposal that “Moscow must continue to pay a high price for its aggression.” High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said the EU's sanctions were “tough and hard-hitting” and that they would continue “to target those close to Putin and the Kremlin.”This aggression has been condemned by the United Nations and other international bodies. Sanctions were initially imposed on Russia in 2014, in the wake of its illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea. The US has also imposed its sanctions on Russia, which shows that Western nations are acting in one direction.Finally, with regard to the comment about banning Russians from entering Europe, a decision to ban Schengen visas for Russian citizens has not been made yet. It will be a topic of discussion at a meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Prague at the end of August 2022. See similar case here.Read more disinformation cases about the EU’s anti-Russian sanctions.

Invasion of Ukraine, Sanctions

18.08.2022

Ukraine is preparing a provocation at Zaporizhzhia similar to the one in Bucha

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-is-preparing-a-provocation-at-zaporizhzhia-similar-to-the-one-in-bucha

Ukraine, Russia

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia

Ukraine’s provocative actions at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant have started. For the first time in history, missiles were launched at such an unprecedented object. Ukraine’s desperate political establishment are pushing perpetrators to commit a war crime. Some high-ranking Ukrainian politicians will leave the country but individuals in lower state positions will be held responsible. The possible provocation at Zaporizhzhya NPP reminds of Ukraine’s provocation in Bucha.

This article falsely accuses Ukraine of shelling the Zaporizhzhia NPP and promotes disinformation about staged atrocities in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.Pro-Kremlin media presented atrocities committed by Russian forces in Bucha as a Ukrainian provocation, set-up to unleash World War III, a coordinated attack by the Western media, a distraction from “US biological laboratories” in Ukraine, and a British plot. As explained in our analysis, this was one of many attempts to distract and obfuscate the facts of war crimes.Russia has been blaming Ukraine for the alleged shelling of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP for weeks but no evidence is provided to back these claims. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.See earlier disinformation cases alleging that Ukrainian forces want to destroy Zaporizhzhya NPP, that Kyiv's accusations of killings in Bucha are a provocation, and that the images of dead bodies in Bucha may be a diversion of attention from US biolabs in Ukraine.Technical remark: This disinformation was broadcast via Sputnik on 18 August 2022. Due to the EU decision to restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.

18.08.2022

EU’s fascist sanctions against Russia prove European countries are no longer democratic

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/eus-fascist-sanctions-against-russia-prove-european-countries-are-no-longer-democratic3

all-make.net

France, Ukraine, Italy, EU, Europe, Russia

Russian

The EU’s decision to freeze the assets of Russian nationals is proof that Europe does not follow its own principles. The sacred right to private property, which is the foundation of laws governing democratic states, is being repealed. This means that the countries which made these fascist, Nazi, Hitlerist decisions without a court ruling are no longer democratic.

The claim advances a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative concerning the EU’s sanctions policy toward Russia.There is nothing “fascist” about the EU’s restrictive measures in relation to Russian actors. Sanctions are a globally recognised mechanism applied against states, organisations, and/or individuals that may threaten international security.The EU has the right to impose economic sanctions within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. Crucially, any such measures must strictly conform to European and international law, and:"respect fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, as general principles of Union law." [p. 7, para. 10]

Nazi/Fascist, Sanctions, Anti-Russian, Russophobia, Democracy, European values

17.08.2022

The West helps Ukraine carry out a provocation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-west-helps-ukraine-carry-out-a-provocation-at-the-zaporizhzhia-npp

russtrat.ru

Ukraine

Russian

The West is helping Ukraine carry out a provocation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.Of course, before the coming provocation, there is information processing of the masses in the West, where Russia has been appointed the culprit of what is happening.

This is an unsubstantiated claim by pro-Kremlin outlets made in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, blaming the West for the situation on the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The pro-Kremlin disinformation claim that Ukraine carries out false flag attacks and provocations is designed to deflect blame for the war atrocities away from their real perpetrators. The claim is part of a wider pro-Kremlin campaign accusing Ukraine and its allies of preparing a false-flag incident in Zaporizhzhia.This is not the first time the Kremlin’s manipulation and disinformation machine has used a deep-seated and very reasonable fear of a nuclear disaster to advance its political and military goals in Ukraine.In fact, there have been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident". Russian forces likely use the territory of the NPP to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river. Russia turned the station into a military base. It uses reactor buildings as hiding places for its armaments, such as military trucks and armoured vehicles.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.The Ukrainian authorities refuted the allegations of the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.President of the European Council Charles Michel emphasized that "Russia's actions are risking a nuclear disaster". Charles Michel supported the idea of a demilitarised zone around the nuclear power plant.On September 1, 2022 UN (IAEA) inspectors could reach nuclear plant.Read our article Playing with nuclear fire and the Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.See more disinformation cases about the Zaporizhzhia NPP: London is helping Kyiv turn the country into a nuclear wasteland; NATO may use Zaporizhzhia incident as a pretext to join combat in Ukraine; Washington and the Kyiv regime's actions pose a threat of nuclear catastrophe.

West, Nuclear issues, Provocation, War in Ukraine, Invasion of Ukraine

17.08.2022

The EU preaches trivial Russophobia presented as European values

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-eu-preaches-trivial-russophobia-presented-as-european-values

Russia, EU, Germany, Ukraine

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Russia, EU, Germany, Ukraine

For the collective West, a war by the hands of others and on others’ territory is a universal means to maintain dominance and make profits. When it comes to the events in Ukraine, the economy became the trigger of destabilisation and the war that followed. In an attempt to justify anti-Russia sanctions, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated in the interview to Deutsche Welle, “I prefer smelling as homeless to bringing grist to Putin’s mill in the shower.” Baerbock and Borrell hardly realise that the European values they preach are trivial Russophobia.

The article obscures the actual reason behind economic sanctions placed on Russia and presents the Russian aggression against Ukraine as a West-triggered economic struggle. It also spreads a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russophobia, falsely equating it to European values. Furthermore, it attributes a false citation to German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock.Russia started broadscale military intervention of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 under the pretext of the “de-Nazification and demilitarisation” of Ukraine. Russia had earlier issued assurances to both Ukraine and the whole world that it was not planning to invade Ukraine. The EU condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine and imposed restrictive measures on Russia. EU sanctions are directed against the Russian government, the financial sector and the economic elites, targeting the Kremlin's ability to finance the military aggression.See other examples of similar disinformation messages in our database, such as claims that according to Josep Borrell sanctions are no longer effective, that Nazism is one of the highest European values, and that the West uses Ukrainians as expendable material in a geopolitical game to contain RussiaTechnical remark: This disinformation was broadcast via Sputnik on 17 August 2022. Due to the EU decision to restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.

17.08.2022

Ukraine commits acts of terrorism in Crimea to intimidate civilians

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-commits-acts-of-terrorism-in-crimea-to-intimidate-civilians

rutube.ru

Ukraine, Russia

Russian

It is odd that Ukraine is seeking some security guarantees while actively engaging in terrorism in Crimea. These are acts of sabotage. Zelenskyy has openly threatened Russian residents in Crimea that terrorist attacks could happen at any time.

Some links may contain graphic content.This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets about the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, accusing Ukraine of war crimes, aiming to deflect attention from the actions of the Russian army. In reality, Ukraine is using high-precision Western weapons to strike Russian military targets in Ukrainian territory without affecting civilians. Crimea is internationally recognised Ukrainian territory where Kyiv may hit any Russian military facilities. Such objects can be legitimate targets of Ukrainian strikes, although Ukraine’s Defence Ministry has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in explosions there. According to a Ukrainian government report circulated internally, Kyiv is behind three explosions in Crimea. However, this information has not been officially confirmed.Ukraine does not intimidate civilians in Crimea. Ukrainian forces target only military facilities in the occupied peninsula. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned civilians of possible future strikes and called on them to stay away from military objects to be out of danger.It is Russian troops who are 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 other Ukrainian places.

Invasion of Ukraine, Crimea, War crimes

16.08.2022

Russia's military operation prevented genocide in Donbas and is in full accordance with the UN charter

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/russias-military-operation-prevented-genocide-in-donbas-and-is-in-full-accordance-with-the-un-charter

elhiwarettounsi.com,m.akhbarelyom.com,nabd.com,dotgulf.co,tayyar.org,ahlmasrnews.com,pressbee.net,arabic.rt.com,Al Minasa Press,sa24.co

Ukraine, Russia

Arabic

Russia began its own military operation in full accordance with the UN Charter; the objectives of the operation were clearly and precisely defined, namely, to ensure the security of the Russian state and people, and to protect the Donbas population from genocide.

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative justifying the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article. On 2 March, 2022, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution demanding that Russia immediately end its military operations in Ukraine.On 10 March, 2022, the EU leaders stated that "Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine grossly violates international law and the principles of the UN Charter and undermines European and global security and stability."As for the genocide claim, since the conflict broke out in 2014, pro-Kremlin coverage has been characterised by the liberal use of the term "genocide," taken to mean the Ukrainian government's alleged treatment of the population of Donbas.There is no evidence that either ethnic Russians or Russian speakers are facing persecution at the hands of the Ukrainian authorities, much less the danger of annihilation on grounds of nationality, ethnicity, or cultural belonging. This has been confirmed by reports issued by the Council of Europe, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the OSCE.For an overview of the Kremlin's deployment of the "genocide" narrative regarding Ukraine, see further debunking by EUvsDisinfo, Euromaidan Press, and POLYGRAPH.info.Read more about the EU response and support for Ukraine.For further information, see also the Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War and The Chilling Background to the Kremlin's "No War" trope.A similar case can also be seen here.

Genocide, UN, International Law, Invasion of Ukraine, War in Ukraine, Donbas

16.08.2022

Ukrainian forces want to destroy Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukrainian-forces-want-to-destroy-zaporizhzhya-nuclear-power-plant

Laivaslaikrastis.lt

Ukraine

Lithuanian

Ukrainian forces are bombing Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant to destroy it and disrupt the referendum in the region next month.

No evidence is provided to back the claims being made. The recurring claim that Ukraine carries out false flag attacks is designed to deflect blame for the war atrocities away from its real perpetrators.The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said. Russian forces likely use the territory of the plant to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.Russia has been blaming Ukraine for the alleged shelling of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP for weeks. Russian forces likely use the territory of the NPP to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.The holding of "referenda" or similar imitations of democracy at gun-point is a well-known Kremlin trick since the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 to mask the brutal military occupation and claim pupular support. See more disinformation narratives on "Nazis in Ukraine" and war crimes. For background see: disinformation targeting Ukraine.

War in Ukraine, Terrorism, Nuclear issues

16.08.2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine conducted in full conformity with UN Charter

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/russias-invasion-of-ukraine-conducted-in-full-conformity-with-un-charter

Kremlin.ru

Russia, Ukraine

Russian

Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine was launched in full conformity with the UN Charter. The operation aims to ensure the security of Russia and its citizens, as well as to save the people of the Donbas from genocide.

The claim is part of an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign concerning Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine.The argument that the full scale invasion conformed to the UN Charter was also promptly dismissed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres himself (at 6:33):“The use of force by one country against another is the repudiation of the principles that every country committed to uphold. This applies to the present military offensive. It is wrong. It is against the (United Nations) Charter. It is unacceptable.”.There is no evidence that ethnic Russians were facing persecution at the hands of the Ukrainian authorities, much less the danger of annihilation on grounds of nationality, ethnicity, or cultural belonging. This has been confirmed by reports issued by the Council of Europe, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the OSCE. For an overview of the Kremlin's deployment of the "genocide" narrative regarding Ukraine, see further debunking by EUvsDisinfo, Euromaidan Press, and POLYGRAPH.info.See here for further debunking by POLYGRAPH.info.

War in Ukraine, UN, humanitarian aid, Genocide, Donbas

16.08.2022

Discussions about a ban of Schengen visas for Russian citizens is nationality-based discrimination like in Nazi Germany

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/discussions-about-a-ban-of-schengen-visas-for-russian-citizens-is-nationality-based-discrimination-like-in-nazi-germany

RIA

Europe, Russia

Russian

The idea of the ban of Schengen visas for Russian citizens is nationality-based discrimination. It is similar to the case when in Germany, after 1933, signs appeared “Juden sind hier unerwünscht” (“Jews are not wanted here”). Today’s discussion about visas is like a European sign “Russians are not wanted here”.

Recurring manipulation comparing the European Union to Nazi Germany. A decision to ban Schengen visas for Russian citizens has not been made yet. It will be a topic of discussion at a meeting of the EU foreign ministers in Prague at the end of August 2022. The argument for the ban on visas for Russian citizens is based on the statement of the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, that “visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right”. These words were said in the context of the ongoing Russian military invasion of Ukraine. The idea of the ban on visas was also supported by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenskyy. His argument was that Russians should “live in their own world until they change their philosophy.” Kremlin-backed disinformation outlets quite often use non-argument comparisons to Nazism and similar historical parallels. See more examples in our previous cases: Limited military operation liberates LPR from the Ukrainian Nazi rule; Nazism is one of the highest European values; The West and Kyiv exterminated Russians in Ukraine and built a Nazi state.

War in Ukraine, Nazi/Fascist, Human rights

15.08.2022

The West fights Russia through psy-ops like Bucha and the Mariupol maternity hospital

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-west-fights-russia-through-psy-ops-like-bucha-and-the-mariupol-maternity-hospital

es.news-front.info

Ukraine, US, EU, Russia

Spanish

The West fights Russia in Ukraine through psy-ops. like stories about the fictional “Ghost of Kyiv” that took down many Russian planes or the story of Snake Island, where Ukrainian President Zelenskyy announced the death of some border guards that some days later were alive in Russian captivity. The story of Russian bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, where actresses played the role of women giving birth. But the staged “Bucha massacre” became the epitome of cynicism when Western propaganda accused the Russian army of massacres and atrocities at this spot. It is known that Ukrainian authorities didn’t inform about corpses in the streets of the village for four days, and the movements of these corpses are clearly visible in the so-called “video evidence” of the “Bucha massacre”.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative trying to deflect any Russian responsibility for the atrocities committed during its unjustified aggression against Ukraine. This disinformation story mixes different episodes that must be analysed separately. The so-called “Ghost of Kyiv” was a fictional character created as part of a classic war propaganda operation designed to boost the morale of Ukrainian pilots, as the Ukrainian Air Force itself has admitted itself. Reports about the death of the Ukrainian soldiers who resisted the Russian invasion at Snake Island, who were initially granted official posthumous homages, were the result of early misinformation, and Ukrainian authorities corrected it and informed that they were alive and in Russian captivity as early as 28 February. Nonetheless, this disinformation story tries to present these very different incidents as evidence of alleged psychological operations (“psy-ops”) and disinformation against Russia, while disingenuously merging them with false allegations that the bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol and the Bucha massacre, both of which took place in March 2022, were staged.The facts surrounding the Russian bombing of the maternity ward in Mariupol were carefully documented through a large number of pictures from several sources – professional news photographers, social media updates and forensic investigators (see here for our previous debunk of this claim). Evidence of Russian atrocities in Bucha is also overwhelming (see here for our previous debunk of this claim). See here and here for EUvsDisinfo background articles on these episodes.See other examples of similar disinformation messages in our database, such as claims that the images of dead bodies in Bucha may be a diversion of attention from US biolabs in Ukraine, that Ukrainians committed crimes in Bucha, not Russians, that accusations about Bucha are as false as claims that Russia bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, or that Ukraine is under control of the West and staged fakes about Bucha, Mariupol and Kramatorsk.

war crimes, Invasion of Ukraine, Destabilising Russia, War in Ukraine, fake news, false flag

15.08.2022

Ukraine must be forced to stop shelling Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-must-be-forced-to-stop-shelling-zaporizhzhya-nuclear-power-plant

tass.ru

Ukraine, Russia, EU, Belarus

Russian

The US and the EU must end irresponsible games and intrigues around the Zaporizhzhya atomic power plant and force Ukraine to stop shelling it and the adjacent territories.

No evidence is provided to back the claims being made. The recurring claim that Ukraine carries out false flag attacks is designed to deflect blame for the war atrocities away from its real perpetrators.The Ukrainian authorities denied the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) and accused Russia of dangerous actions that may cause a nuclear catastrophe.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armored vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said. Russian forces likely use the territory of the plant to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.Russia has been blaming Ukraine for the alleged shelling of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP for weeks. Russian forces likely use the territory of the NPP to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.See more disinformation narratives on "Nazis in Ukraine" and war crimes. For background see: disinformation targeting Ukraine.

Invasion of Ukraine, Nuclear issues

15.08.2022

The West is pushing Ukraine towards a nuclear catastrophe

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/the-west-is-pushing-ukraine-towards-a-nuclear-catastrophe

Ukraine

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine

The West is pushing Ukraine to create a new Chernobyl, encouraging the shelling of the territory of the nuclear power plant by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.The decision of the Kyiv authorities and their Western leaders to attack the Zaporizhzhia NPP is criminal and can lead to a severe nuclear catastrophe.

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aiming to deflect Russia’s responsibility for shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP).There is no evidence proving the claim that Ukraine is shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP). Contrary to the claim, it is Russia that is shelling the Zaporizhzhia NPP and creating a radioactive threat to Ukraine and the whole of Europe. There has been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident". Russia turned the station into a military base. It uses reactor buildings as hiding places for its armaments, such as military trucks and armored vehicles.The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armoured vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.Russia is denying officials from the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency access to the plant. Russia also rejected calls from the UN for a demilitarised zone around the plant.EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.

15.08.2022

Ukraine conducted dangerous experiments on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/ukraine-conducted-dangerous-experiments-on-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant

asd.news

Ukraine

Russian

Dangerous experiments have been carried out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant for the past eight years. Evidence was discovered when the city of Energodar was liberated from Ukrainian nationalists. It is obvious that the West knew about and was helping to conduct these experiments. Therefore, today, they try to hide the traces by giving the green light to [Ukraine] to attack the nuclear power plant, throwing aside their own “green” priorities like unnecessary garbage.

Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aiming to deflect Russia’s responsibility for shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) in Energodar. No evidence is provided to back the claim that Ukraine is conducting dangerous experiments at the Zaporizhzhia power plant or that the West knew about this.On the contrary, when Russia forcefully took control of the plant in March 2022, it shelled the plant with tanks, risking a radiation leak. Later, it disconnected the plant from international monitoring systems that monitor radiation levels in real-time and did not allow Ukraine to control the operations of the plant, even though some of Ukraine's staff stayed at the plant. Russia also forbids any international visits to the plant. There have also been an increasing number of reports that Russia uses the nuclear site as a so-called “sheltered” artillery park, "using the facilities to fire on Ukrainian positions in the belief that Ukraine would not fire back and risk a nuclear accident".EU High Representative Josep Borrell condemned Russia’s military activities there and labelled them as a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia’s disregard for international norms.US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, accused Russia of using the plant as a nuclear shield. “Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant,” he said. Russian forces likely use the territory of the plant to shell the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.Additionally, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) warns about the risk of Russia's militarisation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. According to recent data, Russia mined the territory of the plant and placed its military armaments near nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage facilities.A video shared by Russian opposition outlet The Insider shows that Russian military vehicles move in and around the plant, some of them (including armoured vehicles) moved into the building containing the first of the plant’s six nuclear reactors. Besides this, Russian forces dug trenches and establish firing positions.In its recent statement, the Foreign Ministers of the G7 stated that "it is Russia’s continued control of the plant that endangers the region" and demanded Russia to hand back full control over the plant as well as other occupied nuclear facilities to Ukraine.In fact, it has been confirmed by multiple sources that Russian army is conducting provocations by shelling the territory of the nuclear power plant and the surrounding area. It also uses the plant as a shield from which it launches rockets and artillery rounds against the Ukraine-controlled cities. Russia turned the station into a military base. It uses reactor buildings as hiding places for its armaments, such as military trucks and armored vehicles.Read more about disinformation targeting Ukraine.

Invasion of Ukraine, War in Ukraine, Information war, Nuclear issues

15.08.2022

Poland is absorbing Ukrainian territory with Zelenskyy’s consent

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/poland-is-absorbing-ukrainian-territory-with-zelenskyys-consent

es.news-front.info

Poland, Ukraine

Spanish

When conversations emerged about Poland starting to absorb Ukrainian territory, many thought it was exaggeration. However, events show the danger of a “soft annexation” is already evident in Banderstadt in Western Ukraine. The annexation, which is publicly denied by Polish president Duda, is acknowledged by the Poles themselves. Articles in Polish media report on the “occupation of Ukraine” or how “Polish soldiers are stealing Kharkiv”. The condition to provide military assistance to Ukraine was Zelenskyy’s consent to transfer part of the territory to Poland.

Recurring narrative presenting Poland as a state with imperial ambitions, aiming to confound the reality of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.The multiple claims made in this disinformation story - 1) that Poland is preparing to seize Ukrainian territory; 2) that the condition for aiding Ukraine is to transfer this territory to Poland, to which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed; and 3) that the Poles admit it - are all unfounded, and no evidence is presented to back them up. The mention of “Polish media” can hardly be considered proof, as these outlets are not identified.The false allegation that Poland was plotting with the US to divide Ukraine and take over some territory was initially spread by the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Narishkin in April 2022, and later repeated by the head of Russia’s National Security Council Nikolai Patrushev and other top officials. This disinformation message has adopted several different and sometimes contradictory forms, including allegations that Poland wants either to create a puppet proxy-state in Western Ukraine or the annexation of these territories or that it is actually President Zelenskyy who wants to cede this land due to his “Polish origin”. This effort can be interpreted as an attempt to seed mistrust between Ukraine and Poland and other Western backers of Kyiv.In fact, Poland adheres to international law regarding state borders, fully supports the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, it does not have any territorial claims against its neighbours and it rejects any “imperial” ambitions towards other countries. Read more about the Eastern policy of Poland here.On the contrary, it is Russia that started an unprovoked war in Europe, capturing more and more territories of a neighbouring country and has created a serious danger to European security.See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.

Territorial dispute, Invasion of Ukraine, Andrzej Duda, Volodymyr Zelensky, War in Ukraine, Imperialism/colonialism

15.08.2022

Mariupol is a Russian city and is returning to its roots after the special operation

https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/mariupol-russian-city-returning-to-its-roots-after-special-operation

actualidad-rt.com

Ukraine, Russia

Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia

Olga and Pavel are from Mariupol and have no doubts that the city where they were born is Russian. With the start of the special military operation, Mariupol initiated the return to its roots.

This baseless claim appeared in a documentary series of four episodes titled “Mariupol: Chronicles of a Russian city”, broadcast by RT Spanish in August 2022. The allegation is part of a broader disinformation campaign to prepare the ground and justify the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia.Mariupol cannot be considered a Russian city under any prism. Prior to WWI it was part of the Russian Empire, but so was most of the rest of Ukraine and a big part of what is today Polish territory (see map here). After the outbreak of the Ukrainian-Soviet war in 1917, it became part of the so-called Ukrainian People’s Republic and was afterwards occupied by German and Austrian troops as a result of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. In 1921, it became part of the new Socialist Republic of Ukraine, which was soon integrated in the USSR. Mariupol was always recognised by Russian authorities as Ukrainian territory, both during Soviet times and after Ukraine’s independence in 1991.See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that a referendum and a coup forced Luhansk and Donetsk to declare independence, that the Russian liberation of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk ended discrimination and abuse, that “Azov” admitted in a secret document that the majority of Mariupol residents support Russia, or that the Financial Times reported that Ukraine threatened Russia with terrorist attacks on its territory.