Ukraine has been willing, in negotiations with Russia, to drop its aspirations to join the North Atlantic Alliance if it receives the security guarantees which is trying to present to the population as a "NATO of its own". The solution is less feasible now, when the parties seem to be negotiating rather to gain time.
The Republic of Moldova is intensifying its efforts to combat Russian propaganda. The Chisinau Parliament adopted, in first reading, a series of normative acts which, on the one hand, ban symbols associated with the Russian army and the invasion of Ukraine, and on the other hand, provide the state institutions with new tools to stop propaganda in the audio-visual media and online environment.
Despite the fact that during the last eight years the Russian propaganda has targeted mainly Ukraine, Kremlin did not forget the Baltic States and Latvia. On the one hand Latvia itself was targeted, on the other propaganda and disinformation about Ukraine and NATO were promoted as well.
NATO is a weak organization that, in the event of a conflict with Russia, will not even defend its own members, as it has not defended Ukraine, writes in a comment ehomd.info, a web page blocked by the Intelligence and Security Service after the start of the war in Ukraine for spreading fake news.
Kyiv has officially refused to comply with the Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war and Russian soldiers are being “tortured” by Ukrainian “neo-Nazis”. The false narrative has been launched by the Russian Ministry of Defense and distributed by the Russian media.
Russia, USSR’s successor, has carried over many of the latter’s myths under Vladimir Putin, particularly those regarding its might and military strength. These myths are deeply ingrained in the collective mindset of people in ex-Soviet space. Still, the invasion of Ukraine has started shattering many of these myths, including those about the victorious army, the liberating soldier and the brotherhood of people.
The Russian press is spreading false narratives about the atrocities in Bucha, using various US “experts” to illustrate their arguments about “a provocation staged by Ukraine”.
Despite its overwhelming superiority in terms of military strength, Russia did not attain any notable objective in Ukraine, primarily due to the Ukrainians’ staunch resistance. Evidence of that can be found in the territories occupied by the Russian army, where the population refuses to accept occupation forces and the few local collaborators the Kremlin is trying to impose in key leadership positions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky makes the protection of the rights of the Romanian minority in Ukraine conditional on the aid that Romania should provide to the Kyiv authorities in this war.
In recent weeks, the Republic of Moldova has seen increasing pressure from Ukraine. Kyiv is persistently calling on Chișinău to take measures in order to rally itself to the international sanctions imposed on Russia. Such a move would be however irrelevant in economic terms, and wouldn’t represent such a strong signal not even at political level. Instead, it could cause bigger troubles for the pro-European government,
The Russian media is distributing propaganda narratives, according to which the USA will deploy former military of the Afghan armed forces to Ukraine. In fact, the USA has not and will not deploy troops to the territory of Ukraine in the context of the war with Russia.
The Proekt team, declared an undesirable organization in the Russian Federation last year, returns with an extensive investigation into Vladimir Putin's health problems. The Insider writes how, before being assassinated, the politician Boris Nemtsov was pursued by FSB agents later involved in the poisoning of Alexei Navalny. Russian publicists are also pondering the chances of Putin being tried by the Hague Tribunal for war crimes.
Zelensky spoke up for Ukraine in front of numerous legislative and international bodies. Each time, the message carried a call for help and a plea to stop Russia. The speeches that conveyed this message were adapted to the specific audiences Zelensky addressed, including references to historical figures and events, as well as shared ideas and values.
Ukrainian refugees are aggressive and disturbing, and the hosts are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with them. In the Republic of Moldova, they vandalize Soviet monuments and pick up fights with the locals, writes the Russian publication mk.ru, citing social media, but without providing any proof for such allegations. In the Republic of Moldova, several such pieces of disinformation have been debunked by the media.
Most Ukrainians are waiting to be liberated by Russia, which has been forced to launch a special operation and is the victim of Ukraine’s aggression, says the Luhansk separatist leader. These false narratives are amplified by the Russian media.
The war had a powerful impact on the perception of Ukrainians, something which has been confirmed by opinion polls published after February 24. From a politician with plummeting numbers, Volodymyr Zelensky’s approval rating has now reached unbelievably high levels. Russia is now hated by most Ukrainians, who also distance themselves from the Moscow Patriarchy
The invasion is having long-term effects on the relationship between Bulgaria and Russia. Pro-Ukraine demonstrations and numerous volunteer initiatives for the Ukrainian refugees have spread all over the country, and patience for the controversial Russian ambassador to Sofia is running out, as the government mulls plans to finally diversify its gas resources..
The Czech Republic was quick to denounce Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and prime-minister Petr Fiala even took a risky trip to a besieged Kyiv, to show his support. The most surprising Czech reaction came from president Milos Zeman, a staunch pro-Russian who unequivocally condemned the invasion and asked for a firm response to Putin.
NATO / US are forcing Ukraine to fight against Russia for the latter to be defeated and Vladimir Putin overthrown. The narrative falls into the category of Russian propaganda that seeks to shift responsibility for the war from the aggressor to the victim (Ukraine) and its supporters (NATO). In Romania, the narrative is promoted by Ion Cristoiu, an active promoter of pro-Russia disinformation in the public space.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused a stir in the Republic of Moldova as well, as the country has Russian troops on its territory, a frozen conflict and an aggressive separatist entity backed by Moscow. The scenario of an invasion is increasingly less likely, given the difficulties the Russian troops have encountered in Ukraine, which does not mean though that the risk of some of the challenges escalating is not there.
The Russian media accuses the UN of having allegedly encouraged the “genocide” organized by Ukrainian “Nazis” against Russian speakers in Ukraine, since the Security Council did not adopt the resolution regarding the ceasefire proposed by Moscow. The UN General Assembly previous adopted a resolution – ignored by Russia – in which it called for a termination of the conflict.
The war in Ukraine has brought to the attention of journalists and communicators an issue that had been a concern for Kiev for several years: the spelling of proper names. People and localities alike are better known by their Russian names. Ukraine insists that the spelling should be in Ukrainian.
A local official from Moscow has called for the denazification of Poland, the Baltic States, the Republic of Moldova and Kazakhstan, by applying the same method used in the case of Ukraine, namely a Russian military intervention. The Russian state media, agencies such as TASS or RIA Novosti, have ignored the initiative.
Viruses synthesized to target certain populations and areas transported by birds instead of missiles, an army of Satanists fighting on the side of Ukrainian forces and “delicate” bombings carried out by the Russian army – these are some of the weirdest narratives launched by Russian propaganda after the invasion of Ukraine.
The mines Ukraine has planted in the Black Sea could set off the hydrogen sulfide deposits in the sea and thus cause a cataclysm in Europe. The false narrative was promoted in Romania by Sorin Roșca Stănescu on Cozmin Gușă’s radio show. Both have previously fostered disinformation and fake news and have aligned themselves to Russia’s positions.
Mariupol has been destroyed by Ukrainian (nationalist) forces in the city, desperate for not getting any reinforcements from Kyiv, the Russian government media writes. The narrative is meant to draw attention away from the fact that the Russian army shelled the city systematically, without caring about killing civilians or causing damage.
Ukraine will attack the US Embassy in Lviv and will blame Russia with a view to forcing NATO to enter the war, according to a recent propaganda narrative fostered by the Russian state media, which quotes a statement of the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman.
In the articles selected this week by Veridica, journalists are calling on their peers who sided with the Putin regime to tell the truth. They describe how war is being presented in schools across Russia and argue that information justifying the Russian aggression in Ukraine was introduced in school curricula a few years back.
Through its tactics in Ukraine, the Russian military is reminiscent of the Soviet army in Afghanistan rather than a modernized force. Veridica spoke with Chisinau military historian and researcher Ion Xenofontov to see the similarities and differences between the two wars fought by the former USSR and its legal successor, Russia.
The Russian media writes Kyiv alone is to blame for the prolonged conflict in Ukraine. The narrative is used alongside older propaganda messages, according to which Moscow is carrying out a special military operation aimed at protecting civilians, whom Kyiv is using as human shields.
Russian Embassies in a number of countries have called on Russian ethnics to report every case of discrimination. By means of such messages, launched after the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow claims the Russian-speaking population is discriminated against, in order to intimidate countries such as the Republic of Moldova, but also to discourage Russian citizens who plan on leaving Russia.
A concentration camp was discovered in the region of Luhansk, where Russian speaking people were tortured, according to a false narrative disseminated by the Russian state media. It presents Russia as a state that, through its “special military operation” in Donbass, freed the local population and chased away “the Nazis” and “the nationalists”.