DISINFO: Russia’s special international status allows it to cancel Ukraine’s independence
SUMMARY
Russia will get back its historic lands in Ukraine because it possesses strategic nuclear arms. Russia is one of the two superpowers which created international law. Events which can be seen as violations of international law, cannot be interpreted so in relation to Russia and the US due to their superpower status. This is the prize for the victory in WWII. Ukraine violated the Declaration of Independence which served as the ground for Russia’s decision to recognise its independence. Hence, the court in Moscow should make a decision to cancel Ukraine’s independence.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine’s statehood. Pro-Kremlin outlets often cast doubts on Ukrainian statehood and claim that Ukraine either does not exist as a state, or is going to collapse very soon.
The claims that Ukraine's independence can be revoked in court and that Russia’s status makes it unaccountable to international law norms, are completely false from the legal point of view. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically elected president and parliament. It has established diplomatic relations with over 180 United Nations member countries.
The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which began in 2014 with the Russian illegal annexation of Crimea and Russia's military involvement and support of separatists in Donbas, violates international law. On 2 March, 2022, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution demanding that Russia immediately end its military operations in Ukraine. On 12 October, 2022, with 143 votes in favour, 5 against, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution condemning the Russian Federation’s annexation of four eastern Ukrainian regions: Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
Claims about Russia’s ‘historic lands’ in Ukraine are false. The history of Ukraine dates back to the era of the Kyivan Rus in the 9th-13th. Due to a variety of historical reasons, Kyiv’s importance declined over the centuries, and the Russian Empire subjugated Ukraine. In the aftermath of World War I and the disintegration of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires two states were created: the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR) and the West Ukrainian People's Republic. They merged into a unified state - the Ukrainian People's Republic - on 22 January 1919. Under Lenin's leadership at the beginning of the 20th century, Ukraine was occupied by the Bolsheviks and for decades was under communist control. With the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991, Ukraine gained full independence.
Read our past analysis about Russia’s use of nuclear sabre-rattling and earlier disinformation cases alleging that Russia has legal grounds to cancel Ukraine’s independence in court, that Putin is trying to save Ukraine from complete disappearance, that Ukraine's days are numbered and it will return to its rightful homeland, and that depopulated Ukraine has lost its statehood.