According to the pro-Kremlin media, which quotes Maria Zakharova, Russia had no choice but invade Ukraine, given that the West had been unjustifiably arming Kyiv
Propaganda: The US and Great Britain had for years been arming Ukraine, so Russia was forced to defend itself and strengthen its national security
NEWS: Russia has been talking for several years about how Ukraine has been armed by the US and Great Britain, as well as about the NATO military activity that violates Russian borders, said the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, commenting on the words of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
He had previously stated that the United States was arming Kyiv long before the start of the special operation, providing the authorities in Kyiv with various types of weaponry, in particular Stinger missile systems and Javelin anti-tank systems.
"Russia has been talking about this for many years. Both about how the United States and Britain were pumping weapons into Ukraine, and about the endless NATO exercises in the Black Sea, in violation of Russian borders [...] Actually, that is why one of the tasks of the special operation is the demilitarization of Ukraine and ensuring the security of our country.”
NARRATIVES: 1. The US and Britain armed Ukraine long before the war broke out. 2. The "special military operation" was necessary for Russia to defend itself from the West. 3. NATO has repeatedly violated Russia's borders.
PURPOSE: To justify Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Reality: Ukraine was armed as a result of Russia’s aggression
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: Russian propaganda attempts to reverse the chronology of events and portray the West's reaction to Moscow's military aggression as a cause of the war. Although Western military aid was provided in December 2021 and January-February 2022, it occurred against the backdrop of repeated warnings from the US administration about an imminent invasion of Ukraine. The US called on Russia not to attack Ukraine on a full scale, and its refusal prompted a Western initiative to support Kyiv more. Anyway, in 2022, Ukraine had been at war for eight years now, attacked as early as 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and started, with the so-called "the little green men", the war in Donbas.
Deliveries of large-scale lethal weapons to Ukraine by the US and the UK increased significantly only after February 24, 2022. Before this event, military aid was less and more oriented towards defensive equipment and non-lethal assistance (helmets, medical kits, equipment). Neither the Stinger nor the Javelin are offensive weapons, and they really helped Ukrainian troops defend against Russian attacks in the first months of the full-scale war. The provision of Stinger missiles and Javelin anti-tank systems was known, the information was not a military secret.
The "special military operation" has nothing to do with "threats" from the West or Ukraine to Russia's security. Neither the West nor NATO have launched or were preparing any direct military aggression against Russia that would justify a self-defense action of this magnitude. Russia's war is not one of self-defense, it’s a war of aggression against a neighboring and independent state. The invasion of Ukraine was perceived by many countries as a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and international law. In this regard, the UN General Assembly has repeatedly called for the withdrawal of all troops of the Russian Federation from the territory of Ukraine.
The statement about NATO's violation of Russian borders is also devoid of any logic. Such action would involve direct military action that would violate a state's territorial sovereignty. NATO has not conducted military operations on Russian territory. Since the end of the Cold War, several former Warsaw Pact countries and Soviet republics have chosen to join NATO to ensure their security, which NATO sees as a democratic process of enlargement. This enlargement is termed by Russia as a threat, but it does not constitute a violation of Russian borders.
A series of NATO military exercises in the Black Sea have been carried out in partnership with Ukraine. Russia considers as its territorial waters a part of the legal Ukrainian space, which it has annexed in recent years. In fact, the NATO ships were in Ukrainian territorial waters, which Russia considers its own. Claims of NATO aggression are made strictly from a Russian perspective, which views any form of NATO enlargement near its borders as a challenge. This blend of false arguments is ultimately intended to justify Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
CONTEXT: In 2020, Ukraine purchased from the USA the necessary armaments and equipment to strengthen its defense in the context of the war in Donbas and the annexation of Crimea. In addition to the Javelin, 16 Mark VI ships were purchased. In January 2022, the US made the decision to provide Ukraine with additional Javelin anti-tank systems against the background of Russian troops amassing on the country's borders. Military aid has increased exponentially after Russia launched a full-scale attack on Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
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