DISINFO: Russia is at war with the US Deep State, which is behind the Ukrainian fascist junta
SUMMARY
Russia is not in conflict with Ukraine now, Russia has a conflict with the American deep state. It is this [Deep] State that established this Ukrainian fascist junta, which is fighting against Russia.
RESPONSE
This is a conspiracy theory which is not backed by evidence, aiming to promote several recurring pro-Kremlin narratives about secret elites and the US Deep State, as well as, “Nazi Ukraine”.
The 'Deep State' disinformation trope seeks to question the legitimacy of democracy and Western institutions in the US. It promotes the view that US presidents and other public officials are just window-dressing, whereas decision-making lies in the hands of another group of people.
It also contains a recurring disinformation narrative claiming that the war in Ukraine is a proxy war against Russia. This disinformation narrative aims to deflect Russia’s responsibility for its unprovoked military aggression.
Ukraine is not fighting on behalf of any foreign government or organisation. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically elected president and parliament. The country's sovereignty has been violated only as a result of continuous acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since 2014, culminating with a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine starting on 24 February 2022.
Labelling Russia’s adversaries as Nazis is a very frequently used pro-Kremlin disinformation technique, and has been used by Russia to try to justify the invasion of Ukraine by portraying it as a “denazification operation”. Russia spent years preparing the information battleground prior to its full-scale invasion, with the framing of Ukraine and its government as a “Nazi junta” as one of its most prominent disinformation features. Read a more detailed debunk here, as well as our analysis titled "Why does Putin portray himself as the tamer of neo-Nazism" and Nazi east, Nazi west, Nazi over the cuckoo's nest.
The US, the EU and NATO condemn, in the strongest possible terms, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is entirely unjustified and unprovoked. Not only Western but also many other nations around the world support Ukraine with military and financial aid for the country’s efficient self-defence, in accordance with the UN Charter article 51, to stop Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Russia is the only country responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. It has been coming up with different explanations and pretexts for its aggression since the beginning of its hostilities. Moreover, Russia was not forced to invade Ukraine. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII. Russia has occupied internationally recognised Ukrainian territories, constantly attacking critical infrastructure, and killing civilians.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that The US Deep State decided to allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russian territory, that The real power in the US is wielded by the Deep State, that Ukraine is a neo-Nazi Russophobic state, that EU and NATO are backing neo-Nazi values in Ukraine, that Europeans maniacally support the Nazi Bandera Kyiv regime, that All Ukrainian governments since 2014 have been illegitimate, that Zelenskyy is illegitimate and therefore Russia is directly fighting the West, that the US proxy war against Russia has turned Ukraine into a graveyard, that the US exploits Ukraine against Russia, that the conflict in Ukraine is a Western proxy war against Russia, or that Kyiv is cannon fodder for US interests.