DISINFO: Genocide committed by the Kyiv regime was impossible to stop by political means
SUMMARY
Genocide committed by the Kyiv regime was impossible to stop by political means. The special operation of the Russian Federation disrupted the large-scale offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the LPR and DPR and saved thousands of civilian lives.
RESPONSE
This is part of a disinformation campaign aiming to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, portraying the Ukrainian leadership as pathologically Russophobic and presenting the eight-year-long conflict in Eastern Ukraine as a one-sided genocide, perpetrated by Ukraine. This narrative tries to deny the role of Russian forces in the war in eastern Ukraine and created a pretext for the invasion of the country.
The Ukrainian authorities did not systematically exterminate the people living in the conflict zone. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine which has closely monitored the conflict had observed no such genocide. The victims of war – military and civilian alike – are a result of Russian military aggression against Ukraine. It is not an internal civil conflict but a well-documented act of aggression by the Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014. Russia was supporting its proxies with weapons, its active-duty soldiers served there and its top military commanders visited the war zone to coordinate joint efforts with the separatists. Despite all this, Russia has officially denied its military presence in Donbas for the past 8 years.
There was no genocide of Russians or any other national minorities in Ukraine. The rights of Russian-speaking citizens are equally guaranteed by the Ukrainian constitution and legislation. Articles 10 and 11 of the Constitution guarantee the free development of the languages and cultures of Ukraine’s ethnic minorities, including Russian-speakers.
No evidence has been provided that ethnic Russians were facing systemic persecution at the hands of the Ukrainian authorities, 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. For an overview of the Kremlin's deployment of the "genocide" narrative regarding Ukraine, see further debunking by EUvsDisinfo, Euromaidan Press, and POLYGRAPH.info.
On 24 February, Putin announced his decision to launch an unprovoked and unjustified full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, which started the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII. One of the pretexts for the so-called military operation is the “demilitarization and denazification” of Ukraine according to official Russian statements. As a result of this decision, on March 2nd, 39 governments asked the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to open an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.
Read our recent articles on 7 myths of pro-Kremlin disinformation about the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, and Kremlin fabricated pretexts for the further invasion of Ukraine. For the background, see vol. 1 and vol. 2 of the series "What he said and what it really means".
See our guide to deciphering pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's war.
See our account of the Kremlin's intention of annihilation of Ukraine here.