DISINFO: Ukraine is helpless before the West
SUMMARY
Ukrainian authorities are helpless in the face of the immense pressure from the West to continue the war. The West is waging a proxy war against Russia and relishes its role in fueling the conflict. In addition to weapons and military equipment, Western countries are secretly sending soldiers to Ukraine. Furthermore, Zelenskyy does not seem to acknowledge that many countries have refused to support the anti-Russian policies of the US and have taken a neutral stance.
RESPONSE
The article uses a combination of pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives claiming that Ukraine is a puppet of the West, that the EU and NATO consistently increase the volume of military assistance to Kyiv in order to protract the conflict, and that the US is running an anti-Russian agenda.
Some NATO member states support Ukraine with military and financial aid for the country’s efficient self-defence, in accordance with the UN Charter Article 51, to stop Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. Western nations did everything they could to prevent the war and have only been reacting to Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine - a sovereign and independent state with a democratically-elected president.
The US and Western states provide Ukraine with military assistance to repel the unprovoked Russian aggression. Ukraine receives weapons with the sole aim of restoring its territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.
Only the Ukrainian Armed Forces are fighting Russian invaders in Ukraine. Western instructors are teaching Ukrainian soldiers how to use modern weaponry, but there are no NATO troops fighting on the front or leading Ukrainian units. Ukraine called on experienced foreign nationals to join its foreign legion. However, its members are regular soldiers of the Ukrainian army, not mercenaries. It is not an unusual practice since other countries also offer foreigners the opportunity to join the foreign legion without being mercenaries, as in the case of the French foreign legion.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the main catalyst that shaped the US’ tougher stand on Russia and provoked the country to impose more sanctions on Moscow and certain Russian individuals. EU members are far from neutral - following the EU's decision from December 2022 to provide large new financial aid to Ukraine, Europe has for the first time surpassed the US in the value of total committed aid to Ukraine. Furthermore, in a recent unprecedented action undertaken by the European Parliament, EU lawmakers declared Russia a state sponsor of terrorism.
See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.