DISINFO: Russia's mission is to eliminate Nazism in its new territories and Ukraine
SUMMARY
After the accession of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces to Russia, the mission of the Russian forces became to liberate the entire territory of these regions from the grip of Ukrainian forces, in addition to the other goals of disarming Ukraine, ensuring its neutrality, eliminating Nazism there, and bringing those responsible for war crimes to justice.
RESPONSE
Recurrent negation of Ukrainian statehood and historical revisionism. This claim is part of a disinformation campaign aiming to justify Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the illegitimate annexation of Ukrainian territory. Neither these four regions nor Crimea can be considered Russian land, as they are under illegal occupation.
The occupied territories (Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions) are internationally recognised territories of Ukraine, and remain legally part of Ukraine. The forced annexation of these regions took place amid a full invasion under military occupation, and after sham referenda that did not meet any international standard to be considered legitimate.
Characterising the Ukrainian government and its supporters as "Nazis" is part of a broader pro-Kremlin narrative about Nazi ruled Ukraine, and, as it appears in the claim, is a justification for Russian aggression in Ukraine starting with the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in February 2014, which has escalated into the ongoing full-scale invasion since 24 February 2022.
Read also related cases: Failure of peace conference will rid Russian lands of neo-Nazis and restore ancestral lands; Russia is defending territories that have been part of it for centuries; The denazification of Ukraine justifies the destruction of its industry; Kyiv considers Nazi war criminals as heroes; Denazification of Ukraine remains relevant as Jews and Russians are threatened by Nazis.