DISINFO: There are no Russian troops in Donbas
SUMMARY
There are no Russian troops in Donbas, Ukraine, and there were never any troops at all.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, claiming that Russia is not part of the conflict in Donbas, that Russia has nothing to do with the war in eastern Ukraine and that there is a “civil war” in Donbas. The claims are based on a manipulative interpretation of the OSCE report.
There is irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in Eastern Ukraine. The EU condemns the clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since February 2014.
The former Chief of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine stated at the UN Security Council: "There have been cases where we have reported in the past people in uniforms, claiming to be from the Russian Federation and other countries, as well as mercenaries. SMM has reported observations of vehicles bearing Russian flags but did not observe the origin. I have to say to avoid any misunderstandings, in these reports, there has been no reference to the military units." The video of the statement can be found here [2:44:56 - 2:45:52].
This is not the first time OSCE statements are misquoted or taken out of context.