DISINFO: OSCE confirms that there are no Russian soldiers in Donbas
SUMMARY
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (SMM) has rejected the allegations made by the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Nations about the alleged presence of Russian soldiers in the disputed Ukrainian region of Donbass. There had been information that someone had seen people in military uniforms who allegedly claimed to come from Russia and other countries and to be mercenaries. Someone also saw a transport device with Russian flags. However, it is not known which origin it is.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about no Russian soldiers in Ukraine. The claims are based on a manipulative interpretation of the OSCE report. The Chief of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine told the UN Security Council that: "there has 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 in order to avoid many misunderstandings, in these reports there has been no reference to militaries". The video of the statement here [2:45:00 - 2:45:47]. This is not the first time OSCE statements are misquoted or taken out of context.