DISINFO: Russia doesn’t move outside the framework of international laws
SUMMARY
Russian policy relies on striking military power, long-standing diplomacy, and a long-term strategy that does not get tired or bored of continuous attempts to strengthen the role of the United Nations, and the permanent members of the Security Council to maintain global peace and security, and adhere to the principles of the world order that its foundations were laid 75 years after the end of World War II.
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In other words, no one in the Kremlin desires aggression or interference in the policies of any of the countries against any of the states, and Russia doesn’t move except within the framework of international laws and respect for the sovereignty of states and the will of the people.
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Russia has never initiated an expansion towards the West, as NATO did in its expansion towards the East.
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Russia’s policy is always characterised by clarity and transparency in resolving international and regional issues, which is proven in all international forums, United Nations resolutions and official statements issued by the Kremlin or the Russian Foreign Ministry, and they all depend, without exception, on respecting and observing international laws and concepts adopted by the UN.
RESPONSE
A pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia being respectful of international law, and never interfering in other country's affairs, whereas in fact, Russia has a long record of violating other states' sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Since 1991, Russia was involved in several international conflicts, including intervention in neighbouring states, such as Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014. Many international organisations condemned Russian occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, see e.g. the CSCE statement here and the European Parliament's declaration.
It was also Russia that interfered in Ukraine. In 2014, Russia annexed a part of Ukrainian territory - the Crimean peninsula. The so-called referendum on the peninsula was organised in a matter of weeks by a self-proclaimed Crimean leadership lacking democratic legitimacy and installed by armed Russian military personnel following the seizure of public buildings. No international body recognises the so-called referendum, announced on the 27th of February 2014, and held on 16th of March 2014. Read the EU's statement on the fifth anniversary of the illegal annexation of Crimea here.
The UN Resolution No. 68/262, adopted on 27 March 2014 and supported by 100 states, clearly says that Russia's actions in Crimea, as well as the referendum held in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, violate international law. Russian President Vladimir Putin has also admitted the military presence of Russia in Ukraine in 2015.
Moreover, numerous investigations have provided convincing evidence of Russian interference in the Brexit referendum and in elections across Europe and in the US.
An additional pro-Kremlin tactic of distraction used within this case is “whataboutism”, accusing NATO of expanding towards the east, whereas in fact, NATO does not "expand" in the aggressive sense described here, but rather, it considers the applications of candidate countries who want to join based on their own national will. As such, NATO enlargement is not directed against Russia. NATO's "Open Door Policy" is based on Article 10 of the Alliance's founding document, the North Atlantic Treaty (1949).
See similar cases claiming that Russia respects the sovereignty of all states and that Russia fully respects international law in Crimea and elsewhere; or other similar cases alleging that NATO is trying to encircle Russia, or that the expansion of NATO is military aggression, or that UN’s JIM on Syria was disbanded due to unprofessionalism ; or that Crimea’s reunification with Russia was in accordance with the UN charter.