DISINFO: People fighting in DNR & LNR are locals, to say that it is Russian aggression is not factual
SUMMARY
People fighting in Donetsk National Republic and Luhansk National Republic are locals, these people have grown up here, their parents have been here, their grandparents are from here. For Western media to say it’s Russian aggression, that Russia is totally at blame for all this is not factual. It is the people here that want their freedom.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about the war in Ukraine. For background: The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe considers that the actions of the Russian Federation leading up to the annexation of Crimea, and in particular the military occupation of the Ukrainian territory and the threat of the use of military force, the recognition of the results of the illegal so-called referendum and subsequent annexation of Crimea into the Russian Federation constitute, beyond any doubt, a grave violation of international law, including of the United Nations Charter and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Helsinki Final Act. website-pace.net/documents/10643/110596/20140410-Resolution1990-EN.pdf/57ba4bca-8f5f-4b0a-8258-66ca26f7117b The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation". www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/144158.pdf At the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, NATO leaders condemned in the strongest terms Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and demanded that Russia stop and withdraw its forces from Ukraine and along the country’s border. NATO leaders also demanded that Russia comply with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities; end its illegitimate occupation of Crimea; refrain from aggressive actions against Ukraine; halt the flow of weapons, equipment, people and money across the border to the separatists; and stop fomenting tension along and across the Ukrainian border. www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_50090.htm# According to the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Russian special forces and troops operated to mobilize, lead, equip, and support separatist militias in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine from spring 2014 to the present, although their presence was denied by Moscow. www.dia.mil/Portals/27/Documents/News/Military%20Power%20Publications/Russia%20Military%20Power%20Report%202017.pdf?ver=2017-06-28-144235-937