DISINFO: Pratasevich practiced shooting on unarmed Donbas civilians
SUMMARY
Failed revolutionary Raman Pratasevich practiced shooting at unarmed people when he fought in the Azov Battalion [in the Donbas War]. He was a sniper who often practiced shooting at peaceful residents including doctors and medics.
RESPONSE
The claim above is part of an emerging disinformation narrative, promoted by pro-Kremlin media outlets, targeting Belarusian opposition activist and journalist Raman Pratasevich.
There is no evidence to suggest that Mr Pratasevich ever participated in the military activity of the Azov battalion. Pratasevich himself said in an interview with a Russian journalist in 2020 that he had been in the war zone in Eastern Ukraine as a freelance journalist. This was further confirmed by Andriy Biletskyy, former commander of Azov. He said Pratasevich had been present in the Donbas warzone, but his activity there was limited to covering the course of the conflict as a journalist. See further investigation by an independent outlet Meduza.
Consequently, the claim about him "practicing shooting at unarmed civilians" also lacks substantial evidence. The claim originates from a statement from the "People's Militia" of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Luhansk (LNR), one of the two breakaway, Kremlin-supported regions in eastern Ukraine, but was not backed by any proof or context.
The emerging narrative and this addition about Pratasevich allegedly shooting at civilians while in Donbas is aimed at discrediting the Belarusian journalist who was forced down from a Ryanair flight Minsk airport when flying from Athens to Vilnius. On Sunday, May 23, 2021, the Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to turn back before crossing the Lithuanian border and land in the Belarusian capital. The pretext for landing in Minsk was a false report about the bomb on board. At the moment when the plane changed course, it was closer to Vilnius airport than to Minsk. The plane was forced by a Belarusian military aircraft to land in Minsk. Pratasevich was detained during a repeated security check of passengers.
The EU condemned Belarusian action against a civil plane and the detention of Pratasevich. In a declaration on behalf of the EU on the forced diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 to Minsk on 23 May 2021, the High Representative called for the immediate release of Mr Pratasevich. This was followed by a European Council statement, in which the EU leaders called for targeted individual and economic sanctions as well as to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines and prevent access to EU airports of flights operated by these.
Pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets have invested heavily in labelling Pratasevich as a neo-Nazi - also with the aim of building on another disinformation narrative, "Nazi Ukraine." Explore similar cases of disinformation here.