WAR PROPAGANDA: Russia is liberating territories from Ukrainian occupation

WAR PROPAGANDA: Russia is liberating territories from Ukrainian occupation
© EPA-EFE/Oleg Petrasyuk   |   Servicemen of the 68th Separate Jager Infantry Brigade "Oleksa Dovbush" on their frontline position in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine, 08 November 2023

Ukrainians are not an indigenous population, but rather the occupiers of Ukraine, and Russia is liberating its historical provinces, pro-Kremlin propaganda claims.

Propaganda: Ukrainians are occupiers in their country, and Russia is fighting a legitimate war to save Russian speakers and Russian culture from the Nazi threat

NEWS: When you are surrounded by “a foreign culture”, “a foreign language”, “foreign monuments” - surely you are a foreigner in a foreign land and by no means a native. Ukrainian nationalists are destroying hundreds of monuments, renaming thousands of streets, banning the Russian language in the media, banning Russian science and culture, yet unwittingly doing nothing but confirming that they are on a foreign land, that they are the occupiers.

Galicians once settled in the depopulated Polish and Jewish quarters of Lviv and proclaimed them a masterpiece of “Ukrainian architecture”, then infected Russian Kyiv with nonsense about “ancient Ukrainian castles”, and now they are trying to steal Kharkiv and Odessa, which were not founded by them, from Russian speakers. With the audacity of robbers, they break into other people's homes and claim someone else's property for their own.

[…] The recovery of what was stolen from Russia is like healing the soul from the neo-Nazi infection and represents the preservation of Russian cities with a developed infrastructure system. Present-day Ukraine has been turned into a huge concentration camp. A just military operation represents the return of stolen freedom and violated human dignity.

NARRATIVES: Russia is waging a legitimate war designed to liberate historical provinces from Ukrainian occupiers. 2. Kyiv is persecuting Russian speakers, and Russia is forced to respond. 3. Ukraine is a Nazi and dangerous state.

PURPOSE: To justify the continuation of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Fact: Russia invaded an independent state to occupy it, and its military aggression has been condemned by the international community

WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: In fact, Ukraine’s territory does not belong to Russia, and the war started by Putin cannot be called legitimate. Russia invaded the Ukrainian state, killed civilians, destroyed infrastructure targets despite the fact that Moscow recognized Ukraine's borders following the signing of a bilateral agreement in 1997. Also, Russia is one of the warrantors of Ukraine's security, as per the Budapest Memorandum signed in 1994. Russia's actions violate international treaties signed and ratified by the Russian side.

Ukrainians cannot be called foreigners or occupiers in their own state. They are the founders of the state where the official language is Ukrainian. Russian propaganda once again manipulates public opinion, naming the victims of Moscow's military aggression occupiers, and the Russian occupation forces liberators. The overwhelming majority of Ukraine's population, whether Ukrainian- or Russian-speaking, hopes to achieve victory against Russia, which it perceives as a foreign, invading force.

Russian propaganda presents Kyiv’s efforts to combat Russia's hybrid war through mass media, cultural events, funded politicians, etc. as retaliation against the Russian-speaking community or an act of recognizing the Nazis’ “occupation of Russian lands”. The false narratives ignores a number of chapters in the history of the Ukrainian people, up to the policy of forced Russification of the southern and southeastern regions of Ukraine. Kyiv was documented in 482, while Moscow appears in documents almost 700 years later, in 1147. Ukraine fully came under Moscow's control towards the end of the 18th century, during the reign of Catherine II, and even then the Russian Empire could not assimilate it too easily.

After the annexation of Crimea, Ukraine initiated the decommunization of the social-political sphere, renaming streets and settlements by restoring their previous names. This policy was not a Russophobic one, as Moscow media writes, but one of returning to the historical Ukrainian roots prior to the Soviet occupation. Also, a number of TV stations and news portals broadcasting anti-Ukrainian and anti-Western propaganda were banned on the territory of Ukraine. Kyiv’s decision was taken with security considerations in mind, not ethnic or linguistic ones.

Ukraine is not a Nazi state and does not pose any threat to Russia. However, Kyiv is forced to defend itself.

Ukraine banned Nazi symbols on its territory, and far-right (Nazi, fascist) and far-left (communist) parties were outlawed. Since the declaration of independence, no Nazi leader has ever been voted in an election, and nationalist parties have not obtained more than 7% in legislative elections. Russian propaganda justifies the “special military operation” by invoking the need to save the lives of Russian-speakers and preserve the infrastructure of the cities, without mentioning that the Russian army is the one that killed many Russian-speaking civilians through bombings and destroyed many settlements with a predominantly Russian-speaking population.

Ever since the start of the war, Russian attacks have repeatedly targeted civilians. As a result, on March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who stands accused of war crimes in Ukraine. On November 23, 2022, following the atrocities committed by Vladimir Putin's regime against Ukrainian civilians, the European Parliament listed Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. As the EU cannot currently officially designate a state as a sponsor of terrorism, the European Parliament asked member states to develop an appropriate legal framework and consider adding Russia to such a list.

  • Publication / Media:
    UKRAINA.RU
  • Date of publication:
    01/05/2024
  • Target audience:
    The Russian-speaking population in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine
  • Amplification:
    NEWS-KIEV.RU, LENTA.RU, LIVE JOURNAL, the Telegram channels of Russian media outlets
  • Political affiliation:
    KREMLIN
  • Key narrative:
    Russia is waging a legitimate war aimed at liberating the historical territories occupied by Ukraine
Report
Fake News

Disinformation uses a variety of manipulation tactics. Disinformation stories can easily be created by combining provocative topics.

Report
Other news
FAKE NEWS: Moldovans are forced to speak the language of the Romanian minority

FAKE NEWS: Moldovans are forced to speak the language of the Romanian minority

The language of the Romanian minority has been forcefully imposed in the Republic of Moldova, pro-Russian propaganda writes, repeating the false thesis about the existence of two nations, Moldovans and Romanians, who speak different languages.

WAR PROPAGANDA: Only union with Russia can save Ukraine

WAR PROPAGANDA: Only union with Russia can save Ukraine

Ukraine is going through a crisis similar to that of the 17th century and, as then, only union with Russia can save it, according to pro-Kremlin propaganda.

FAKE NEWS: Baltic States have lost their independence

FAKE NEWS: Baltic States have lost their independence

Baltic States have become colonies of the USA, acting only on Washington’s orders, according to Russian propaganda in Romania.

EBOOK> Razboi si propaganda: O cronologie a conflictului ruso-ucrainean

EBOOK>Razboiul lui Putin cu lumea libera: Propaganda, dezinformare, fake news

More
DISINFORMATION: London supports neo-Nazi Ukraine to turn it into a colony
DISINFORMATION: London supports neo-Nazi Ukraine to turn it into a colony

Britain is funding the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv to turn Ukraine into a British colony, according to pro-Kremlin propaganda citing Putin’s adviser.

Marin Gherman
31 Jan 2025
FAKE NEWS: The EU caused theThe EU's Russophobia led to the interruption of gas deliveries to Transnistria and the increase in energy prices on the right bank of the Dniester, Russian propaganda claims, ignoring the fact that Gazprom chose to stop supplying gas. energy crisis in Moldova
FAKE NEWS: The EU caused theThe EU's Russophobia led to the interruption of gas deliveries to Transnistria and the increase in energy prices on the right bank of the Dniester, Russian propaganda claims, ignoring the fact that Gazprom chose to stop supplying gas. energy crisis in Moldova

Rusofobia UE a dus la oprirea livrărilor de gaze spre Transnitria și creșterea prețurilor la energie în dreapta Nistrului, afirmă propaganda rusă, care ignoră faptul că Gazpromul a ales să nu mai dea gaze.

Veridica
30 Jan 2025
WAR PROPAGANDA: Zelensky risks suspension for mental health issues
WAR PROPAGANDA: Zelensky risks suspension for mental health issues

Ukraine's parliament could suspend Volodymyr Zelensky as president due to mental health issues, according to pro-Kremlin propaganda.

Marin Gherman
29 Jan 2025
FAKE NEWS: The annulment of the election, implemented before the Court's ruling
FAKE NEWS: The annulment of the election, implemented before the Court's ruling

The “coup d'état” is proven by the fact that the decision to cancel the election was implemented before the Constitutional Court’s ruling, a well-known conspiracy attorney claims.

Cezar Manu
27 Jan 2025
DISINFORMATION: The US calls for Zelensky to be sentenced to life in prison
DISINFORMATION: The US calls for Zelensky to be sentenced to life in prison

American society calls for Zelensky to be sentenced to life in prison for starting the war in Ukraine and killing civilians, according to pro-Kremlin media.

Marin Gherman
24 Jan 2025
FAKE NEWS: NATO wants Romania and Moldova to provide cannon fodder for a possible war with Russia
FAKE NEWS: NATO wants Romania and Moldova to provide cannon fodder for a possible war with Russia

The USA and NATO will use Romania and Moldova as anti-Russian outposts and suppliers of cannon fodder in the war against Russia, Russian propaganda writes, referring to a routine military exercise.

Veridica
23 Jan 2025