DISINFO: Russia's special military operation is aimed at protecting Donbas people from genocide
SUMMARY
Russia’s decision [to launch its special military operation] is aimed at protecting the Russians and the people of Donbas, who have suffered genocide for eight years from the Kyiv authorities.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, actively trying to legitimise Russia’s military actions. This narrative is claiming that Ukraine is responsible for the war because Kyiv perpetrated a genocide of the population in Donbas. Pro-Kremlin outlets often portray the Ukrainian leadership as pathologically Russophobic and bent on subjecting the country's Russian-speaking population to "genocide".
There is no evidence to support the claims of genocide by Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities did not systematically exterminate or abuse the people living in the conflict zone. The claimed dead people – military and civilian alike - are a result of a war Russia had started in Ukraine. It was not an internal civil conflict but a well-documented act of aggression by the Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine which has closely monitored the conflict had observed no such genocide.
Russia has been coming up with different explanations and pretexts for its unjustified invasion of Ukraine as the situation has been changing. Denazifying and demilitarising Ukraine as well as ensuring its neutral status were among the main reasons for the assault. Protecting the residents of the self-proclaimed separatist entities in Eastern Ukraine from alleged genocide and imposing the use of the Russian language in Ukraine were cited.
Read more disinformation narratives about Ukraine allegedly perpetrating genocide against Russians.
See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.
Technical remark: This disinformation was broadcast via Sputnik Georgia on 17 June 2022. Due to the EU decision to temporarily restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.