DISINFO: NATO is adding fuel to the fire to escalate civil war in Ukraine
SUMMARY
The development of the situation in Ukraine continues to cause concern - to put it mildly. The NATO countries are increasing the supply of arms to Ukraine, training its servicemen, but they are doing this not for some mythical task of maintaining stability and security, but to add fuel to the fire and escalate the ongoing civil war in the country.
RESPONSE
Recurring disinformation narratives about the war in Ukraine, presenting the conflict as a “civil war” as if Russia is not part of the conflict in Donbas, and that NATO is responsible for further escalation.
The war in Ukraine is a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014. There is irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in Eastern Ukraine, in the Donbas. Russia is supporting its proxies with weapons, its active-duty soldiers serve there and its top military commanders visit the war zone to coordinate joint efforts with the separatists. Despite all this Russia officially denies its military presence in Donbas.
NATO is not involved in fighting in Eastern Ukraine. In response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, NATO has reinforced its support for capability development and capacity-building in Ukraine. At the NATO Summit in Brussels in 2021, NATO leaders reiterated their support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, condemned Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and demanded Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine and reverse its military build-up.
This disinformation is used to distract attention from a renewed build-up of Russian armed forces along the Ukrainian borders which have left additional significant Russian heavy armament and equipment in Ukraine's proximity.