Category Treaties & agreements

Manipulation: West Refuses to Provide Ukraine With Security Guarantees

A column in the Ukrainian online newspaper EuropeanPravda by lawyer Mykhaylo Soldatenko examining the wording and nature of the treaty on future security commitments that Ukraine plans to sign with its allies is being touted by Kremlin propagandists as an example of the West refusing to provide Ukraine with security guarantees. Soldatenko does not write that the G7 countries refuse to provide security guarantees, he simply points out that the word "guarantees" did not appear in the G7 leaders' declaration after the NATO summit. Ukraine is currently negotiating with the United States and Britain on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees.

October 14, 2024
Context European Union Fact checks / debunkings International community Media taken out of context Methods NATO Treaties & agreements Ukraine USA

Fake: Russian Army Never Attacks Churches or Cultural Sites

UNESCO and UN specialists have recorded at least 270 Russian attacks on Ukrainian cultural sites, 116 of those were religious buildings.

Don’t Let Russia Fool You About the Minsk Agreements

The deals reached several years ago are far from perfect, but they nonetheless offer a way to talk to Russia while pressing it not to invade further.

January 5, 2024
Context Minsk Agreements Russia Treaties & agreements Ukraine

Fake: New Maidan in Zhytomyr – Video

A video shared online shows a protest action that took place on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv on October 1, 2019. The protesters were opposed to the then current policy of resolving the war in eastern Ukraine, namely, the implementation of the Minsk agreements under the Steinmeier formula.

November 21, 2023
2014 Maidan revolution Context Disinformation Media taken out of context Methods Minsk Agreements Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Treaties & agreements Ukraine

Did Ukraine Give Up Nukes for Russia, U.S. Security Guarantees?

The Budapest Memorandum, signed in December 1994, resulted in Ukraine voluntarily handing over its nuclear arsenal, as well as other military stocks and munitions, to Russia. In exchange, Moscow vowed to respect Ukraine's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity. The U.S. and the U.K. were among the co-signatories, but stopped short of providing "guarantees" (which would have entailed a direct military intervention) and instead offered "assurances," a term that left some wiggle room for a response to potential aggression from Moscow.

December 7, 2022
Aid to Ukraine Fact checks / debunkings Russia Treaties & agreements Ukraine USA

No, Ukraine does not have nuclear bombs or “dirty bombs”

Ukraine does not have a nuclear bomb or a "dirty bomb," according to experts and watchdogs. The country used to have Soviet-era nuclear weapons but returned them to Russia after the Soviet Union collapsed. Ukraine also dismantled or destroyed its nuclear missiles and silos. Its nuclear materials are now used for peaceful purposes. Experts and watchdogs say Ukraine has neither a nuclear bomb nor a "dirty bomb." Ukraine used to have nuclear weapons but it transferred them to Russia after the Soviet Union collapsed and dismantled or destroyed its nuclear missiles and silos. The nation's nuclear materials are now used for peaceful purposes. We rate the post False.

October 27, 2022
Context Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Treaties & agreements Ukraine

Fact-checking claims that NATO, US broke agreement against alliance expanding eastward

No legal agreement prohibits NATO from expanding eastward. Russians have argued that comments made by U.S. and other Western leaders during the negotiations over the reunification of Germany constituted a promise that NATO would not extend beyond then-East Germany. Those allegations have sparked decades of debate amongst those involved in the events, and scholars studying them. Even scholars who say they believe western powers did offer the Soviet Union assurances about NATO expansion say Owens' claim is misleading. Our ruling Owens said, "NATO (under direction from the United States) is violating previous agreements and expanding eastward." There is an ongoing historical debate over comments that Western leaders, including Baker, made during post-Cold War negotiations, and whether what they said amounted to assurances that NATO would refrain from welcoming in countries closer to modern-day Russia. But NATO as an organization made no such pledge, and the formal agreement signed at the end of those negotiations said nothing about the alliance not expanding eastward. We rate this claim Mostly False.