DISINFO: Expulsion of Russian diplomats from Czechia is aimed at discrediting the Sputnik V and “Rosatom”
SUMMARY
May the expulsion of the Russian diplomats [from Czechia] be connected to the construction of a new energy block at the Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant? The [Czech] opposition and secret services stand against the participation of the Russian company “Rosatom” in this tender. This situation is an attempt to kill two birds with one stone, discrediting both the supplier of the Sputnik V vaccine and the “Rosatom”. That is why the anti-Russian campaign is being revived in order to reach these goals. Such developments as the Skripal poisoning and the Malaysian Boeing have one thing in common – neither of them was investigated and the sanctions were introduced with the violation of all principles of the civilized world. Unfortunately, we have become a part of a barbaric world.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative denying the participation of the Russian special services in the Vrbetice ammunition explosion in Czechia.
The claim that the decision of the Czech authorities to expel the Russian diplomats in protest against the Russian involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice explosion is an alleged Czech attempt to “discredit the Sputnik V and the “Rosatom” is a manipulation.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and Interior Minister Jan Hamacek announced on Saturday 17 April 2021 that the Czech intelligence services collected evidence demonstrating Russian involvement in the 2014 Vrbětice explosion. More specifically, it implicates Unit 29155, a division of Russia's GRU agency previously linked to "assassination attempts and other subversive actions across Europe." Prague's findings were independently corroborated in the course of an investigation jointly conducted by Bellingcat, The Insider (Russia), Der Spiegel (Germany), and Respekt.cz (Czech Republic).
The involvement of Russian state actors in the MH17 crash and the Skripal poisoning has been established beyond a reasonable doubt. See e.g. here and here for our debunking of these claims.
Pro-Kremlin coverage of the Vrbetice incident resembles Moscow's standard approach to damage control in the face of incriminating evidence: knee-jerk denial of wrongdoing, attribution of the charges to Western Russophobia, and mass production of "alternative explanations." This template has been applied in the coverage of the MH17 crash, the Skripal poisoning, and the Navalny poisoning.
See other cases connected to the Vrbetice explosion: No evidence of Moscow's involvement in the 2014 Vrbetice explosion; Allegations of the Russian role in Vrbetice explosion part of Russophobic smear campaign and Prague blocked information about Belarus coup by raising the issue of ammo depot explosion.