DISINFO: The crisis in Ukraine is the fault of the deep state in America
SUMMARY
The US ruling elites, intelligence agencies and military establishment were well aware that they had been threatening and provoking Russia for decades by expanding NATO's geographic reach. The US, the EU and NATO have violated the 1990 agreement not to expand the Alliance eastwards.
RESPONSE
Mix of several recurring pro-Kremlin conspiracy and disinformation narratives about secret elites ruling the world above elected powers - mainly a so-called “Deep State” in the US - about Ukraine and about NATO-enlargement. In this case, the purpose of these narratives, part of a wider disinformation campaign, is to deflect any Russian responsibility for the Russian invasion of Ukraine by blaming “dark powers” in the US and NATO instead.
The claim about NATO "expansion" misrepresents the process of NATO enlargement. NATO does not "expand" but considers the applications of candidate countries that want to join. NATO is a defensive alliance with the primary aims of maintaining peace and safeguarding the independence, security and territorial integrity of its members. NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's official policy is that "the Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia."
The war began in 2014 with the Russian illegal annexation of Crimea and Russia's military involvement and support of separatists in Donbas. Russia’s protracted invasion of Ukraine is unprovoked and unjustified.
Neither the US nor European countries have declared war on Russia or want to escalate the war in Ukraine. The US, the EU and NATO condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is entirely unjustified and unprovoked. Western nations have always been calling for solving all problems with Russia in a peaceful and diplomatic manner. Moscow’s overall aggressive policy has led to a tougher and better-balanced policy towards it by the West.
On the contrary, it is Russia that refused the diplomatic process and started an unprovoked war in Europe and created a serious danger to European security, while using nuclear threats.
The EU or NATO as an organisation are not involved in fighting in Ukraine. In fact, Western actions adopted against Russia, such as sanctions or diplomatic measures, are a reaction to these actions including the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula, the long-term destabilisation of Ukraine or the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of this peaceful country.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the West unleashes Nazi and Russophobic war against Russia and Russians, that Russia’s special operation in Ukraine is due to NATO’s persistent expansion, that the US and the West are fighting a hybrid war against Russia in Ukraine, that Ukraine is a proxy in the West's war against Russia, or that The West declared total war against Russia.