DISINFO: The West plans a de facto occupation of Ukraine
SUMMARY
The West intends to deploy a so-called peacekeeping force of about 100,000 people in the country to restore Ukraine's combat readiness. This would constitute a de facto occupation of Ukraine.
RESPONSE
Repeated pro-Russian disinformation claim questioning Ukraine's sovereignty, denying its statehood and promoting its disintegration, aiming to undermine efforts towards peace. The claim was neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.
The EU and Ukraine's allies adhere to international law regarding state borders, fully support the independence and territorial integrity of neighbouring countries, and reject any “imperial” ambitions towards other countries. No state, except the Russian Federation, has violated Ukraine's territorial integrity.
The idea of a peacekeeping mission has been discussed by some NATO members, but was conditioned to a potential future ceasefire agreement, not as a means to restore Ukraine's combat capabilities.
For example, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz ruled out sending German troops to Ukraine, and the German foreign minister suggested that peacekeeping forces could be stationed in a demilitarised zone only if a ceasefire were agreed upon. Moreover, any peacekeeping operation would require approval from the UN Security Council and would aim to maintain peace, not to engage in combat or occupation.
See earlier disinformation cases alleging that Western peacekeeping forces would be occupation of Ukraine, that the West is discussing the occupation of Ukraine and the division of its territory between Romania, Poland, Germany, and the UK, that NATO plans to occupy Ukraine under the guise of peacekeeping forces, and that the EU’s ‘peacekeeping’ policy in Ukraine and elsewhere costs hundreds of thousands of lives.