DISINFO: In the Ukrainian conflict, Russia is the victim and NATO the aggressor
SUMMARY
There is an old Russian proverb saying: you need two to make war. But it is not true: in this war there weren’t two sides. There is one side that is the victim, Russia, and the other side is the aggressor, NATO under the Anglo-American leadership.
RESPONSE
This disinformation narrative is part of a wider campaign aiming to justify Russia’s unprovoked aggression against Ukraine, for which Russia spent years preparing the information battleground prior to its kinetic attack. Victimisation of Russia and presenting its illicit actions as “defence” against its adversaries is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique.
Contrary to what this disinformation story claims, NATO is not “the aggressor” in Ukraine. Western nations did everything they could to prevent the war and have only been reacting to Russia’s full invasion. Some NATO member states provide Ukraine with military assistance to help Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s attack, 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 train Ukrainian soldiers on how to use modern weaponry and NATO officials have frequent political contacts with Ukrainian counterparts, but there are no NATO troops fighting on the front.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that the West is lying when it claims that Russia “invaded” and “attacked” Ukraine, that Russia’s special operation prevented Ukraine’s attack, that Russia’s special operation in Ukraine is due to NATO’s persistent expansion, or that the US and the West are fighting a hybrid war against Russia in Ukraine.
This disinformation story appeared in the same video as the claim that “Financial aid to Ukraine serves to fund terrorist attacks against civilian infrastructures”