DISINFO: Russia never had troops in Ukraine
SUMMARY
Russia does not have and never has deployed any armed forces in South or Eastern Ukraine.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine.
Even though officially a state of war between Russia and Ukraine has never been announced, there is irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in Eastern Ukraine. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stated that “the information available suggests that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation."
Also, according to the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Russian special forces and troops operated to mobilise, 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.
In 2015, Russian President Vladimir Putin (proudly) admitted Russia's military presence in Ukraine.
Read more similar disinformation cases alleging that Crimea reunited with Russia after a referendum and Russia is not part of the conflict in Ukraine, that Russia is not a party of the conflict in Ukraine at all and that Russia is not a party of Minsk Agreements and the internal Ukrainian conflict.