DISINFO: Russia did not start any intervention or aggression in Ukraine, but is trying to stop it
SUMMARY
Russia did not start any intervention or aggression in Ukraine but is trying to stop it. The border of Ukraine should be in connection with the sovereign decisions of people who live in historically Russian territories.
Where did [Russia] violate international law and the UN Charter? Nowhere, there are no such violations. If this is so, then the border of Ukraine should be by the sovereign decisions of people who live in certain territories, which we call [Russian] historical territories.
RESPONSE
These are multiple recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives claiming that Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is justified. These aim to deflect responsibility for the aggressive war waged by Russia in Ukraine.
It is Russia and Putin who 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.
In violation of international law, Russia started the war against Ukraine in 2014 by violating the country's territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. It illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and provoked a separatist revolt in some eastern regions of Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine under false pretexts such as committing a genocide of the Russian-speaking population in the eastern regions.
Russia's aggression against Ukraine was unprovoked and unjustified. Contrary to Russian claims, Ukraine had not planned to attack Russia and did not commit genocide in the non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Ukraine was striving to implement the Minsk Agreements, but the Moscow-backed military formations constantly disrupted their implementation.
The war in Ukraine is a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014. The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation".
All attempts by Russia to legalise its "control" over any part of the territory of Ukraine are a violation of its state sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Russian illegal referendums on Ukrainian territories do not change the borders of Ukraine. Democratic countries do not recognise the results of the so-called referendums that Russia conducted in Ukraine at gunpoint. Neither Zaporizhzhia nor Kherson are Russian territories, they are within the Ukrainian and international legal framework.
Russia, with its “Putin elections” on 15-17 March 2024 and sham referendums 2014-2022 in occupied Ukrainian territories, not only grossly violated the Constitution and legislation of Ukraine, but also neglected all the norms and principles of international law, in particular the UN Charter. The results of these sham polls were universally rejected by leading international and human rights organisations, including the United Nations, the OSCE and NATO. EU adopts sanctions against Russia over the illegal annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
Read similar cases: Russia did not start the war against Ukraine, it is only trying to end it; Russia’s special operation prevented Ukraine’s attack; Ukraine's government deliberately conducted genocide of the Ukrainian people; Russia did not start the war in Ukraine, but it aims to end it; Russia does everything to stop the Ukrainian war unleashed by the West; The populations of the "occupied territories" in Ukraine have expressed their desire to join Russia via referendum.