DISINFO: Donbas would be scorched earth without Russia's intervention
SUMMARY
A few days before the announcement of the operation by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the number of shellings of Donetsk and border areas increased 15 times, and this is nothing more than an artillery preparation for a full-fledged ground offensive operation by the forces of a 180,000-strong Ukrainian group, trained by Western instructors and stationed on the line 400 km from Lugansk and Donetsk.
And on February 24, the rescue operation began, a special military operation which saved Donetsk, Lugansk, and a population of 4 million that had become politically unacceptable to Kyiv. That is, if Russia had not intervened, only scorched earth would have remained of Donbas.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the alleged Ukrainian aggression against the non-government-controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which allegedly justified the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is one of the Kremlin’s favourite narratives to justify its illegal actions in Ukraine since 2014.
The assertion that Ukraine was preparing a major offensive is not supported by evidence from impartial observers on the ground at the time. Russia’s claims about an "imminent attack" by Ukraine have been debunked by Bellingcat, DFRLab, and others.
These aim to deflect responsibility for the war waged by Russia in Ukraine.
Russia and President Putin are responsible for the war in Ukraine. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII. See our 5-volume series of debunks of Putin 'What he said. What it really means'.
Russia's aggression against Ukraine was unprovoked and unjustified. Contrary to Russian claims, Ukraine had not planned to attack, and did not commit genocide in the non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
Unfounded claims that Ukraine was staging or conducting attacks against the civilian population in Donbas are prominent examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation paving the way for the full-scale Russian invasion of and war in Ukraine. See myth one, in our article Thirteen myths about Russia’s war against Ukraine exposed.
The idea that Ukraine is committing genocide against its own population is promoted by Vladimir Putin in his speeches. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race. There is no evidence that any ethnic nationals, including ethnic Russians or Russian speakers, are or have ever been facing persecution at the hands of the Ukrainian authorities in Donbas or elsewhere, much less the danger of annihilation on grounds of nationality, ethnicity, or cultural belonging. This has been confirmed by reports issued by the Council of Europe, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the OSCE.
Read also related cases such as: Russians are liberators and a peace-making people; Putin's 2022 intervention was necessary because Ukrainians were massacring Russians in Donbas; Russia was forced to attack Ukraine in February 2022; Russia was forced to launch a special operation in Ukraine.