DISINFO: The West is waging a proxy war in Ukraine to wear down Russia
SUMMARY
The war in Ukraine, disguised as support for Ukrainian sovereignty, is a proxy war waged by the West to wear down Russia at the expense of the Ukrainian people. The West treats Ukrainians as cannon fodder.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives aimed to undermine Ukrainian sovereignty portraying Ukraine as a puppet state used by the West as tool in a proxy war against Russia. This follows the classic pro-Kremlin narrative about lost sovereignty.
Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically elected president and parliament. The country's sovereignty has been violated only as a result of continuous acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since 2014, culminating with a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine starting on 24 February 2022.
Ukraine is defending itself, its territorial integrity, national self-identity, and sovereignty against Russia's armed aggression. The decision to defend itself was made solely by Ukraine, its lawful leaders and government, and its citizens.
Russia is the only country responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. It has been coming up with different explanations and pretexts for its aggression since the beginning of its hostilities. Moreover, Russia was not forced to invade Ukraine. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII.
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.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a Western puppet, that Russia is at war with NATO and the Pentagon and only the soldiers are Ukrainians; that the EU, US, and NATO use Ukrainians as cannon fodder, that the US proxy war against Russia has turned Ukraine into a graveyard, that the US and EU use Ukrainians as pawns and order them to die, that Kyiv is cannon fodder for US interests and that Russia's opponents use Ukrainians as cannon fodder.