Latest fact checks & sources

Crimea is internationally recognized as Ukrainian territory according to international law. On the basis of the Budapest Memorandum, signed in 1994, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in return for a guarantee of its territorial integrity and political independence from Russia, the US, and the UK. No international body recognises the so-called referendum in Crimea. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”, stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula.

Russia and Putin are responsible for the war in Ukraine. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine was unprovoked and unjustified. Contrary to Russian claims, Ukraine had not planned to attack Russia, and did not commit genocide in the non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Ukraine was striving to implement the Minsk Agreements, but the Moscow-backed military formations there were constantly disrupting their implementation.

Conspiracy theory. There is no evidence to suggest any connections between Navalny and Prigozhin and the CIA. While there was information that US officials saw signs that Prigozhin was planning a challenge to the Russian military, they were surprised by the rapid escalation. This disinformation story aims to divert any Russian responsibility for the death of Alexei Navalny – a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation.

During his meetings with US decision-makers in Washington D.C. in March 2024, High Representative of the EU Joseph Borrell emphasised that Ukrainian victory is essential for Europe’s security, but also for the US, not only out of solidarity, but also out of US self-interest.

In 2014, Russian troops forcefully obliged the parliament of Crimea to organise a referendum, which was illegitimate under international law and then illegally annexed the peninsula and brought it under Russian territorial control. The annexation has been condemned by the UN, stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. No international body has recognised the so-called referendum, which was organised by a self-proclaimed Crimean leadership lacking democratic legitimacy and installed by armed Russian military personnel following the seizure of public buildings.

Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation said Ivan Syrskyi is the son of Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi’s ex-wife. Colonel-General Syrskyi did not adopt Ivan, which is why Ivan is not his stepson. Ivan and his mother have been living in Australia for 14 years. Oleksandr Syrskyi does not communicate with them and is not responsible for the actions of his ex-wife’s son. Ivan Syrskyi is a private person and his actions cannot be attributed to the Ukrainian authorities. In the video, issued on 20 February 2024, Ivan Syrskyi did not ask Putin to grant him Russian citizenship or say he wanted to cast a ballot. Answering a question in the Russian Consulate General in Sydney whether he was planning to ask for a Russian passport, he said: ‘I am planning.’ He also said: ‘Glory to Russia’ and some other phrases, without mentioning Putin. Ivan Syrskyi actually asked for Russian citizenship in 2021. This was 3 years before Oleksandr Syrskyi was appointed Commander-in-Chief.

The press service of the Holy See denied the claim in a comment to the fact-checking website POLYGRAPH.info. The false report continued to feature on the main website of RIA Novosti, Russia’s leading state-owned media organisation.

According to international law, Crimea is a part of Ukraine. On 27 March 2014, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning Russia’s occupation of Crimea and stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. No international body has recognised the so-called referendum, which was organised by a self-proclaimed Crimean leadership lacking democratic legitimacy and installed by armed Russian military personnel following the seizure of public buildings.

No credible evidence was provided to back the claim. “The SVR, the main successor to the KGB’s First Directorate foreign spying service, advanced the accusation of the US planned cyberattacks on Russian electoral system but did not set out any evidence for its assertions,” Reuters noted. Russia has for several years refused to formally invite OSCE election observers to monitor elections within its territory. The most recent instance when the OSCE observed elections in Russia was in 2018.

In 2014, Russian troops obliged the parliament of Crimea to organise a referendum, which was illegitimate under international law, and then illegally annexed the peninsula and brought it under Russian territorial control. The annexation has been condemned by the UN, stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. A year after the illegal annexation, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum.

The referendum in Crimea was neither legitimate nor democratic. On 26 February 2014, the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government. The next day a referendum was announced and a vote was held on March 16, 2014, in the Peninsula of Crimea. The territory was then controlled by Russian forces, and neither Ukrainian nor Russian election code was observed.

Russia’s economy has felt serious impact from the international sanctions its unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The ruble has weakened and inflation is soaring. Despite Moscow’s welcoming efforts, Foreign Direct Investment is falling. Hundreds of thousands of Russian citizens have fled the country since the outbreak the invasion. Sanctions on Russia’s banking and financial system, the embargo on electronic components and the price caps on Russian oil and petroleum products have also led to serious consequences for the Russian economy.

In 2014, Russian troops forcibly obliged the parliament of Crimea to organise a referendum, which was illegitimate under international law, and then illegally annexed the peninsula and brought it under Russian territorial control. The annexation has been condemned by the UN, stating that the referendum in Crimea was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg presented the 2023 report, which covers all aspects of the Alliance’s work over the past year. Speaking about NATO support for Ukraine, Stoltenberg noted that in 2023, a number of member countries sent long-range systems to Ukraine for the first time – British Storm Shadow missiles and French SCALP. The allies also agreed to supply F-16 aircraft to Ukraine.

On March 14, 2024, the Ukrainian national operator Energoatom announced the disconnection of the second power unit of the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant from the network. The shutdown of the power unit was attributed to a mechanical failure in a turbine that generates electricity through steam pressure. The reactor remains fully functional, as do the nuclear fuel assemblies. Energoatom highlighted that the decision to shut down the turbine unit at KhNPP was made due to an excess of electricity in the market. All other power units are operating normally at their rated capacity, posing no threat to the station’s nuclear safety.

Ukraine and its population are defending themselves against the Russian armed aggression in a remarkable display of continued courage and determination. This is not a decision by NATO, Washington, the EU or others. The US, the EU and NATO condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is entirely unjustified and unprovoked. Not only Western but also many other nations around the world support Ukraine with military and financial aid for the country’s efficient self-defence, in accordance with the UN Charter article 51, to stop Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

The Anaconda plan was a military strategy proposed by Union General Winfield Scott early in the American Civil War. The plan called for a naval blockade of the Confederate littoral, thrust down the Mississippi, and the strangulation of the South by Union land and naval forces. It has nothing to do with modern politics and despite frequent disinformation claims in this regard, there is no evidence backing the idea that a so-called ‘Anaconda ring’ or a similar strategy exists.

The Ukrainian government is not killing its own citizens. In fact, its population is defending itself against Russia’s armed aggression in a remarkable display of continued courage and determination. Ukraine’s sovereignty has been violated only as a result of continuous acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since 2014, culminating with a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine starting on 24 February 2022.

Poland, France and Germany adhere to international law regarding state borders, fully supports the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. No state, except the Russian Federation, violated Ukraine’s territorial integrity in a display of imperial, revisionist aggression.

The German Constitution does not restrict the state’s right to deliver military aid to third countries, as long as such deliveries are approved by the federal government. The only constitutional provision which even remotely concerns this issue is Article 26 (1) on securing international peace.