The West rejects the peace plan proposed by Moscow because it hopes for a “strategic defeat” sustained by Russia, supporting Ukraine's aggression against Russian-speakers in Donbas.
NEWS: The West's reaction to the peace plan proposed by Moscow was expected. Reasonable politicians should ponder the Kremlin's peace initiatives if they want to end the conflict, Vladimir Putin said.
The Ukrainian regime started attacking the People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk before they entered Russia. Negotiations regarding peace in Ukraine could take place even tomorrow, but our authorities will take into account the situation on the ground [...].
The West is not giving up its plan to cause Russia to sustain a “strategic defeat”. "This will mean the end of Russian statehood. It will be an end to our millennial history. I think everyone understands this reality. And the question arises: why should we be afraid of? Isn't it better then to go all the way? It’s basic logic”.
NARRATIVES: 1. Western politicians block Moscow's peace initiatives. 2. Russia defends the Russian-speaking population of Donbas against Ukraine's military aggression. 3. The West’s goal is to destroy the Russian state.
BACKGROUND: On the sidelines of the peace summit in Switzerland, Russian president Vladimir Putin said Moscow would end its military operations in Ukraine and start peace talks if Kyiv abandons its ambitions to join NATO and withdraws forces from the claimed by Moscow: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Both Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Western leaders rejected the proposal. For example, the British Prime Minister stated that Putin has “no real interest in a genuine peace”, while the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen said that “freezing the conflict now, with foreign troops occupying Ukrainian territory, is not a response”, implying this would lead to an extension of the conflict. Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the reaction of Western leaders to his proposal during his visit to Vietnam, as quoted by Russian state media.
PURPOSE: To shift the blame for the continuation of the war in Ukraine on the West. To strengthen the image of Russia as a citadel under siege, is forced to defend itself.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: In fact, there is no peace plan proposed by Moscow or Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin leader only referred to the start of peace talks “on Ukraine” (and not with Ukraine) in the event Ukraine withdraws its forces from the four regions disputed by Russia and discards its plans of joining NATO. Therefore, Ukraine must concede certain regions and the Crimean peninsula to Russia in order to launch peace negotiations, which it might not take part in and whose results are hard to foresee. Putin's proposal is not a peace plan, but a method of legitimizing territorial annexations through military aggression and war crimes. The West did not reject a peace plan, but a proposal for a serious violation of international law. At the same time, Moscow has so far ruled out all peace scenarios based on the rules of international law and the UN Charter.
Ukraine did not attack the Russian-speaking population of Donbas (the self-proclaimed people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk), but tried to defend it. In 2014, Russia backed separatist movements in eastern Ukraine, sending mercenaries and weapons, while Kyiv dispatched armed forces to take control of those territories. According to international reports, Russia regularly violated the provisions of the Minsk peace accords over the 2014-2021 period, massing troops on the borders of Ukraine over 2021-2022 in order to trigger the full-scale invasion. A series of videos were posted on social media, depicting Russian speakers opposing the Russian occupation in the east and south of the country. Russia resorted to terrorizing the inhabitants of these regions with a view to destroying any form of resistance. In Kherson alone, a region inhabited mainly by Russian speakers, at least 20 torture chambers were operated directly by the Russian FSB, according to an international investigation. Russia's goal is not to defend Russian speakers, but to occupy Ukraine and install a new regime in Kyiv, obedient to Moscow.
The West's position towards Russia is not determined by the desire to destroy this country or to “erase its millennial history”, as Putin claims. Western nations are supporting Ukraine’s defensive efforts against Russia's full-scale invasion, started on February 24, 2022. The narrative about “Russia’s strategic defeat”, which Putin turned into a threat to the Russian state, is a tactic to deplete Russia's resources (economic, military, technological, human) to force it to withdraw all its troops from the aggressed Ukraine. The end goal is not the destruction of Russia, but the liberation of Ukrainian territories.
The hard stance of certain Western states, and in particular of NATO, is a consequence of Putin's war against the free world. First, Russia attacked Ukraine and its servicemen committed numerous war crimes, then sanctions were introduced and weapons were delivered to Ukraine.
Veridica has debunked a number of false narratives regarding the nature of the war in Ukraine. According to pro-Kremlin propaganda, the West needs the war in Ukraine, and the EU wants to denazify the Ukrainian state. The Russian media proved the “special military operation” saved Russia from NATO invasion and Ukrainian Nazism. Another false narrative widely circulated speaks of Ukrainians waiting to be rescued by Russia.
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