Russia is the only country responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. It has been coming up with different false explanations and pretexts for its aggression since the beginning of its hostilities.
We debunk an ongoing theme in the Russian disinformation and propaganda campaign: That Ukraine is sending children to fight on the frontline. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about Ukraine, the Maidan protests and encircling or destabilising Russia. All these allegations have been repeatedly debunked.
The NATO-Ukraine Council issued a statement on 24 February 2024 to mark 'two years of Russia's brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and ten years since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and initial military intervention in the Donbas.' This statement contains no disinformation because Russia has really committed these and other crimes in Ukraine.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about EU disintegration and a looming economic collapse of western countries' economies. As our past analysis explains, the 'imminent collapse' narrative is often used in pro-Kremlin outlets in relation to the EU, European countries, or capitalism and the purpose it to erode public trust and confidence in society, thus weakening morale in Western societies.
This disinformation story is a distorted reference to a New York Times report, the content of which is being disingenuously twisted to support pro-Kremlin justifications for the invasion. The original NTY article explains how contacts between US and Ukrainian intelligence started in 2014 but only deepened in 2016, two years after Russia's aggression had started with the illegal annexation of Crimea and the engineering of an armed conflict in Donbas. According to the NYT article, the network of CIA bases was also established on that second date.
The claim is false. No Spanish outlet has pointed to any Ukrainian involvement in the death of Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who defected to Ukraine with his helicopter in August 2023 and was shot in his apartment in the Spanish coastal town of Villajoyosa on 13 February 2024.
This disinformation story is a distorted reference to a New York Times report, the content of which is being disingenuously twisted to support pro-Kremlin justifications for the invasion.
The original NYT article explains how contacts between the US and Ukrainian intelligence services started in 2014 but only deepened in 2016, two years after Russia's aggression had started with the illegal annexation of Crimea and the engineering of an armed conflict in Donbas.
The disinformation is based on a video message from the Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, published on February 26, 2024. Budanov recalled that Russia's war against Ukraine began not in 2022, but ten years ago - with a carefully planned Russian military operation to seize Ukrainian Crimea.
This is a disingenuous distortion of the original NBC interview with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who after being asked about evidence of Russian interference in the upcoming November 2024 election said: "I can't speak of evidence today, but I can tell you of course there are concerns". The sentence may be ambiguous, but by no means is an "admission that there is no evidence", contrary to what this disinformation story claims.