According to the principles of international law, Ukraine is a territory of the Russian Federation, and Ukrainians are Russian citizens, pro-Kremlin media writes in an attempt to justify the “special military operation”.
Propaganda: Ukraine is a disputed territory to which Russia has a rightful claim as the heir to the USSR
NEWS: A nation is defined according to international law standards of 1945. Is Ukraine part of our nation? Yes. Therefore, the process of national liberation is in fact a process of territorial reunification of our nation.
We should not negotiate with Ukraine. We must negotiate with the United States according to international law, discussing that status of Ukraine. A bilateral agreement must be signed with Ukraine which should stipulate that the remaining territories (the regions of Kyiv and Odesa should certainly be included in the Russian Federation) must not join NATO and must never associate with any military endeavor against Russia.
From the point of view of international law, Ukraine is a disputed territory. In general, Moscow should have a court ruling that should confirm this, by revoking the illegal decisions of 1991. […] As the rightful heir to the Soviet Union, Russia should take control of all USSR territories.
NARRATIVE: Ukraine is a dispute territory and should be given to Russia, according to international law.
Fact: Ukraine is an independent state, recognized by the international community, and Russia pledged to guarantee the security of the Ukrainian state under the Budapest Memorandum
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: The Russian government media picks up on a false narrative launched by president Vladimir Putin in late November, according to which Russia is fighting a national liberation war in Ukraine. The pro-Kremlin propaganda justified the so-called “special military operation” by manipulating public opinion regarding Russia’s claim to occupy Ukraine, as the heir to the Soviet Union. The article quotes Russian MP Yevgeny Fyodorov claiming that Ukraine is a disputed territory, and that political decisions that led to the collapse of the USSR must be revoked. At the same time, the war in Ukraine is described as a national liberation war, because Ukrainians and Russians are one and the same nation.
In fact, the narrative in question overlooks a number of legal details and political events in order to manipulate public opinion and legitimize the war. The fact that Russia is the heir to the USSR doesn’t give Moscow the right to reclaim territories of the former Soviet state. Moreover, in 1997, Russia and Ukraine signed a basic treaty whereby Moscow recognized the political independence of Kyiv and supported the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state.
Not only did Russia recognize Ukraine’s official borders, which encompassed the Crimean peninsula and the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, but under the Budapest Memorandum signed in 1994, it pledged to never threaten to use force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine. After Russia became a warrantor of Ukraine’s security, Kyiv discarded its nuclear arsenal, inherited from the USSR, which at the time was the third-largest in the world, after those owned by the Russian Federation and the United States. Therefore, under international law, Russia not only lacked any right to launch military operations on the territory of Ukraine, but was actually compelled to take action in order to defend this state. In the aforementioned memorandum, Russia pledged to observe the independence, sovereignty and borders of Ukraine.
Russia first violated these international commitments in 2014, when it annexed Crimea and supported the separatist movements in Donbas, then again in 2022, when it invaded Ukraine on a large scale. Russia has no right discussing the future, territory or domestic politics of an independent state, recognized as such by the international community.
At the same time, there’s one important aspect Russian propaganda fails to mention, namely that, as a Socialist Soviet Republic, Ukraine became a founding member of the UN in 1945, alongside the USSR, and the Soviet and Ukrainian delegation would cast separate votes in the General Assembly. In 1945, Ukraine was recognized as an independent nation, separate from Russia. At the time, Kyiv became a founder of the UN in order to ensure an additional vote for Moscow in the General Assembly. This contradicts Russian propaganda theses, which state that in 1945 Ukrainians and Russians were one and the same nation.
In fact, international law regards Russia and Ukraine as two independent and sovereign states. Russia’s war against Ukraine is an act of aggression, condemned by most world states. The UN has voted with overwhelming majority a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, repeatedly calling on Russia to immediately withdraw its forces.
Veridica has disproved a number of false narratives about Russia’s role in “liberating Ukraine”. According to pro-Kremlin propaganda, Russia is waging a war of national liberation and fights against Ukraine for Palestinian freedom. Russian media also wrote that Putin warned Ukraine 23 years ago that NATO would start a war, and now the West is forcing Russia to expand its military operations in Ukraine.
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