DISINFO: Russia has no expansionist ambitions in Ukraine
SUMMARY
The intervention in Ukraine does not aim to expand Russia's borders. It is merely a response to provocations from the West. It is also a response to the actions of the Russophobic Nazi regime in Kyiv which, together with its Western patrons, threatened to destroy Russia's statehood and undermine its sovereignty. Ukraine is part of Russia’s strategic and historical borders.
RESPONSE
The claim is part of an ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It undermines Ukraine's statehood and falsely locates its internationally recognised territory within Russia's "strategic" sphere of influence.
For a state with no expansionist designs on Ukraine, Russia has been active in illegally occupying it over the past decade. In February 2014, Russia invaded and illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. In autumn 2022, it used sham referenda in an attempt to annex the above-mentioned oblasts, as well as the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson.
High-ranking Russian officials have explicitly stated that large swathes of Ukrainian territory rightfully belong to Russia. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has stated that Russia would "liberate" what he described as "historic Russian territories" of Ukraine, while the Moscow-installed head of annexed Crimea stated that the "Russian cities" of Odesa, Kharkiv, and Mykolayiv "should be ours by historical right."
Finally, claiming that the Russian hybrid and then full scale invasion of Ukraine is motivated by concern for Russians who are threatened by Ukrainian “Nazis” is manipulation.
See also myths 3 and 4 in our article Thirteen myths about Russia’s war against Ukraine exposed.
See similar cases such as Kyiv is a Russian city, Ukraine's statehood is myth, its territory belongs to Russia, or Ukrainians are historically Russians and need protection against western imperialism.