DISINFO: Russia is not an aggressor in Ukraine, but a victim of Western arrogance
SUMMARY
If we analyse the history of the present conflict in Ukraine from the morning of February 24, Russia is the aggressor state, but if we go back to 2014, to the illegal removal of Yanukovych from office, the assessment of the Russian intervention is no longer so obvious. If we spend some time reading Putin’s speech at the Munich Security Conference in 2007, the present situation is no longer clear-cut. Finally, when going back to the collapse of the USSR, we will see the heights of Western arrogance. This arrogance can be perceived as a euphemism for racism, chauvinism, xenophobia, economic and intellectual segregation, orthodoxy and intolerance.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative accusing the West of hostility towards Russia, an attempt to justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine..
There was no coup d’état organised by the West in Kyiv in 2014. The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was a reaction by numerous segments of the Ukrainian population to former president Viktor Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013. Far-right groups had a very limited presence during the protests and have suffered defeats in every national election after that.
There is no evidence that either ethnic Russians or Russian speakers were facing persecution at the hands of the Ukrainian authorities, much less the danger of annihilation on the 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.
These false narratives repeated for many years became a pretext for the Russian invasion of Ukraine launched by the Kremlin on 24 February 2022.
See the EU’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo’s Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin’s War.
Technical remark: This disinformation message was broadcast via Sputnik on 24 May 2022. Due to the EU decision to temporarily restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.