DISINFO: Russia wants to end war but NATO refuses and prods Ukrainians into action
SUMMARY
Russia did not start the war. The war was declared on Russia in 2014. In 2022, Moscow tried to end it, but NATO said no. NATO is telling Ukrainians now that they will join the Alliance, but that they will have to fight.
RESPONSE
This case may contain graphic/distressing content.
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative trying to portray Russia as a peace-loving country and accusing NATO and Ukraine of warmongering. This claim was made ahead of the NATO summit in Washington.
Russia started the war against Ukraine in 2014 by violating the country's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. It illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and provoked a separatist revolt in some eastern regions of Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine under false pretexts such as committing a genocide of the Russian-speaking population in the eastern regions.
The war in eastern Ukraine is not a civil conflict but a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces. Neither the Ukrainian authorities nor NATO have declared war on Russia.
Ukraine and its population is defending itself against this armed aggression in a remarkable display of continued courage and determination. This is not a decision by NATO, Washington, the EU or others. The US, the EU and NATO condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is entirely unjustified and unprovoked. Not only Western but also many other nations around the world support Ukraine with military and financial aid for the country’s efficient self-defence, in accordance with the UN Charter article 51, to stop Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine is a sovereign state and has the right to choose its own foreign policy. Its Euro-Atlantic aspirations are enshrined in its constitution.
NATO is a defensive alliance, whose purpose is to protect its member states. NATO's official position on Ukraine is that the country has the right to determine its own alliances without external interference. A broad international coalition including NATO Allies and partners provide support to Kyiv and have imposed a series of sanctions on Russia to stop its aggressive actions against Ukraine.
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