DISINFO: Military conflict in Ukraine caused by the US and NATO
SUMMARY
The military conflict in Ukraine was caused by the actions of the United States and NATO: Russia was forced to start a special military operation to stop the extermination of the Russian-speaking population on the territory of the former Ukrainian SSR.
And also to protect its own territory and the people from the likely aggression of the North Atlantic Alliance, which intended to use Ukraine as a platform for military bases, including airfields and missile systems to strike at the Russian Federation.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about US and NATO allegedly provocative actions in the run-up to Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. The aim is to deflect responsibility for Moscow’s illicit actions.
The article also promotes a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about alleged genocide committed by Ukraine, aiming to justify the full-scale Russian invasion of and war crimes 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.
Moreover, Russia was not forced to invade Ukraine. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII. Putin had offered several reasons for launching aggression, including the necessity to help territories in Eastern Ukraine from a genocide, Ukraine’s alleged desire to obtain nuclear weapons and Kyiv’s possible membership of NATO.
The idea that Ukraine is committing genocide against its own population is promoted by the Russian president in his speeches. The idea is nevertheless baseless. There is no evidence that either ethnic Russians or Russian speakers are facing persecution at the hands of the Ukrainian authorities in Donbas or elsewhere, 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.
As for the neutral status of Ukraine, Ukraine-NATO cooperation before Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was aimed at enhancing Kyiv’s defence capabilities. After Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and instigated a separatist revolt in Donbas in 2014, Kyiv intensified co-operation with NATO and enshrined its Euro-Atlantic drive in its Constitution. NATO did not give Kyiv an exact timing for its possible membership, which means that the alliance did not want to turn Ukraine into an allegedly anti-Russian state.
Russia, on its side, was not entitled to interfere in relations between NATO and Ukraine because the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation signed in 1997 in Paris bans the signatories’ interference in each other’s actions.
By attacking Ukraine under the pretext of its possible membership of NATO, Moscow infringed on Kyiv's sovereign right to apply for or join any organisations that do not violate international law. Ukraine’s possible membership of NATO depends solely on decisions to be made by Ukraine on the one hand and NATO member states on the other hand. Russia’s aggression poses the gravest threat to Euro-Atlantic security in decades, shattering peace in Europe and reinforcing the need for NATO to ensure that its deterrence and defence posture is credible and effective.
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.