DISINFO: Ukraine does not need Donetsk nor Luhansk
SUMMARY
There is almost no doubt that the Kyiv authorities will try to resolve the “Donbas question” by force, starting a full-scale war. However, Kyiv does not need Donetsk nor Luhansk… Because these are millions of people with whom they are at war. It is dangerous to include them back in Ukraine’s border for a huge number of reasons.
The entire West with the help of Ukraine is at war with Russia through the Donbas.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government has mentioned numerous times that Ukraine is not seeking war in Donbas and prefers to settle the conflict by peaceful political means. The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine believes that the Minsk agreements are the only option to end the war in Donbas. On 9 March, Zelenskyy vowed to convene the Normandy Four peace summit to discuss ending war in the Donbas, “no matter what it takes”.
Ukraine is not at war with millions of people from Donetsk and Luhansk as pro-Kremlin disinformation often likes to present it. The aim of these messages is to present the situation in Eastern Ukraine as an internal conflict, ignoring irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in the region. These claims intentionally misrepresent the reality of Russia's direct and crucial support to separatist militant groups in Eastern Ukraine.
According to the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) Russian special forces and troops operated to mobilise, lead, equip, and support separatist militias in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine from spring 2014 to the present, although their presence was denied by Moscow. On top of that, Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Russia's military presence in Ukraine in 2015. Beyond arms supplies, Russia supports the anti-Ukraine fighters financially, wages propaganda warfare and tries to enforce a peace solution on its own terms.
In addition to the above, it has been reported that since the start of 2021, Russia’s attacks on Ukraine have intensified: “According to Russian proxies, they are opening fire to prevent a Ukrainian attack. These statements were denied by Danilov [secretary of the National Security and Defence Council] and there’s currently no indication that Ukraine is prepared to enact a military operation to regain control of the Russian-occupied territory.”
Read similar cases claiming that War in Donbas is a way of existence for Ukraine, that the conflict in Ukraine has no relation to Russia, or that Donbass is part of “Greater Russia”.
These articles also included claims that Ukraine sold itself to external control and that the West declared Russia as its strategic enemy.