Ukraine is preparing to invade Crimea, writes the Russian press, presenting an alternative reality in which Ukraine is an aggressor, not an aggressed state, and the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, seized and annexed by Russia, would be part of its internationally recognized territory.
NEWS: "A complex strategy for the occupation of Crimea has been adopted in Ukraine. The National Security and Defense Council in Kiev has adopted the "Strategy for the de-occupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied territory of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol." The document will be published at a later date. "All those interested will have the opportunity to read this document. We decided at the Council meeting that the Strategy for the de-occupation of Crimea will be translated into English, for all our partners to be able to analyze the document as soon as possible ", said NSDC Secretary Oleksii Danilov.The dignitary stressed that the strategy was written in one year, involving representatives of several structures, including those from the extremist Mejlis group (banned in Russia).
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Crimea reunited with Russia in 2014 against the background of the coup d’etat in Ukraine. The power in Kiev refuses to acknowledge the Crimeans’ free will, and the Western countries are using this opportunity to put pressure on the Russian Federation through sanctions.”
“In Russia, the adoption of this document is considered a threat through a potential aggression against two subjects of the Russian Federation [Crimea and Sevastopol] […]”
NARRATIVES: 1. Ukraine will start a war against Russia in order to occupy Crimea. 2. Kiev actively collaborates with the Mejlis, the extremist organization of the Crimean Tatar people. 3. Kiev’s actions are a threat to Russia’s territorial integrity, in particular to its federal subjects Crimea and Sevastopol. 5. A coup was staged in Ukraine in 2014.
LOCAL CONTEXT/ETHOS:
On March 11, 2021 the National Security and Defense Council in Kiev adopted the "Strategy for the de-occupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied territory of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol" - a document comprising principles of Ukrainian policy towards Crimea. The Russian press reacted promptly to this news, disseminating information about Kiev's plans to start a war against Russia, to use heavy weapons on the inhabitants of the peninsula, with the support of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, seen in Russia as an "extremist organization".Crimea was annexed by Russia in March 2014 following a referendum (with a very low turnout) held without international observers and under pressure from the Russian army, in which 95.6% of the participants were in favor of joining the Russian Federation. The referendum was held after Russian forces had captured the entire peninsula following an initially unassumed military operation (the invasion of the so-called "little green men"). The annexation was followed by the insurrection of pro-Russian separatists (with Moscow's support) in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, where the armed conflict is still on. Ukraine has made a number of international efforts to recover the peninsula: debates at the UN, the OSCE and the Council of Europe, the launch of the Crimea Platform and the adoption of the strategy for the reintegration of the peninsula. PURPOSE: The purpose of these narratives is to show the Crimean public that Ukraine is willing to start a ruthless war against civilians in order to occupy the peninsula at any cost. While Russia's actions are shown to be peaceful, Ukraine is described as a war-seeking state. The legitimacy of the power in Kiev, whose leaders emerged from a coup, is being questioned. The narratives can also have side effects in the Donbass, consolidating Ukraine's media image as a "warrior" and a "Russophobic" state. WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: In reality, the "Strategy for the de-occupation and reintegration of the temporarily occupied territory of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol" is a set of principles of political, diplomatic, social, cultural, informational actions for a potential recovery of Crimea. Nowhere in the text is there any mention of occupation or military action, only the peaceful and diplomatic nature of these efforts is emphasized. Moreover, the Russian press doesn’t even quote this document, mentioning that the strategy will be published at a later time, but it seems to be certain that it is a military strategy. The key narrative was supplemented by other classic Kremlin narratives about Ukraine: the coup, Kiev's ignoring the Crimean pseudo-referendum, and so on.What’s new is recalling Ukraine's collaborative relations with the representative body of the Crimean Tatars – the Mejlis. The Russian media terms it an "extremist organization", and it is banned and persecuted in Russia for the fact that local Tatars have repeatedly protested against the brutal actions of the authorities, the violation of human rights in the peninsula, etc. Several members of the Mejlis are in Russian prisons, being accused of extremism and terrorism without any concrete evidence to that effect. The Russian press has been demonizing Mejlis, and now presents Ukraine's Crimean strategy as one developed in cooperation with "Tatar extremists." Ukraine's efforts, which are legitimate under international law, are presented as a potential aggression against Russia and its federal subjects.
Last but not least, Ukraine does not have the military capability to attack the Russian Federation, which is not just a nuclear power, but clearly stronger than its neighbor with regard to conventional forces as well.
GRAIN OF TRUTH: As of 2014, Western countries have introduced a string of sanctions against Russia, following the latter’s annexation of Crimea. These sanctions have been extended, and their elimination is conditioned upon Crimea’s return to Ukraine. In this news that we are analyzing, sanctions are presented as a mere Western whim, in its search for a good, fabricated reason to impose sanctions and economically weaken Russia.
OFFICIAL REACTIONS: The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba has highlighted the political nature of this document. “We have approved the Strategy for the de-ocupation and reintegration of Crimea – a historic document that should have been released in 2014. The signal is clear: not only that we call on the international community to help us get Crimea back, but we are doing our own clear and systemic efforts” he wrote on Twitter.
