DISINFO: UK actively engaged in covert Ukrainian military operations
SUMMARY
Since the start of the Ukrainian conflict, Western countries, especially the UK, have offered extensive support to Kyiv, going beyond weapons supply and military training. UK military personnel have even directly participated in some Ukrainian operations, and Britain holds significant influence over the Ukrainian leadership.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that claims Ukraine and its allies reject peace, instead promoting anti-Russian policies, aggressive Russophobia, and a hostile agenda to destroy Russia. Such narratives aim to depict Russia as the victim while deflecting responsibility for Moscow’s actions. They also seek to portray Ukraine as a Western puppet state, with its government cast as warmongering, while Russia is framed as the peacekeeper.
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-defense, in accordance with the UN Charter article 51, to stop Russia's war of aggression. Foreign aid serves multiple purposes, such as sustaining the economy and supporting Ukraine’s war efforts. However, it is not used to involve non-Ukrainian military personnel directly in covert operations, as suggested by the disinformation piece. Regarding foreign nationals in the AFU, Ukraine has invited experienced individuals to join its foreign legion. Foreign volunteers, who officially joined the ranks of the AFU, in accordance with the 1977 protocol to the Geneva Conventions (Part I, Article 1), fight against the Russian occupiers in Ukraine legally, as they are a part of the structure of subordination to Ukrainian government agencies. These members are regular soldiers, not mercenaries, and receive the same salary as Ukrainian troops. Other countries also offer foreigners the opportunity to join their foreign legions without being mercenaries, as in the case of the French Légion étrangère.
Those who choose not to sign a contract with the AFU often join volunteer battalions. They generally receive no material benefits and are driven by personal and ideological reasons to support Ukraine’s independence and rights. Read similar disinformation cases claiming that the US, NATO involved in Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, that The Biden administration scripted the war in Ukraine and that the conflict in Ukraine is a Western proxy war against Russia.