DISINFO: The past year’s events put an end to Russia’s honest attempts to establish equal cooperation with the West
SUMMARY
The past year’s events put an end to Russia’s honest attempts to establish equal cooperation with the so-called collective West. NATO-provoked militarization on Russia’s Western borders lead to difficult decisions after the West rejected Russian proposals regarding security guarantees. These difficult steps included the recognition of the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics, the launching of a special military operation in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, the holding of referendums in the DPR, the LPR, and the liberated territories of Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, with subsequent acceptance into the Russian Federation.
RESPONSE
This is a disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin media trying to justify Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine which began on 24 February 2022.
In reality, it is not a "special military operation" but an all-out Russian war against a sovereign state. The claim that the West allegedly provoked the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is one of the key messages of Putin’s propaganda. See the Seven Russian Myths about the conflict. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII.
Article 51 of the UN Charter states the following: “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.”
This article – when applied to the Russian aggression against Ukraine in 2022 – gives Ukraine the right to defend its territory, not to Russia to invade it.
The so-called referenda held in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine were not organised in compliance with the UN Charter and the United Nations stated they cannot be considered legal under international law. The same applies to the referenda held in the Donbas region in 2014 and in Crimea. EU High Representative Josep Borrell said on 21 September 2022, before the illegal referendums were held:
“The European Union strongly condemns these planned illegal ‘referenda’ which go against the legal and democratically elected Ukrainian authorities, are in violation of Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and in blatant breach of international law. The results of such actions will be null and void and would not be recognised by the EU and its Member States.
Therefore, these illegal ‘votes’ cannot be considered under any circumstance as the free expression of the will of the people living in these regions under constant Russian military threat and intimidation."
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that Kherson residents want to join Russia, not Ukraine, that newly liberated Ukrainian regions are returning to Russia, that Crimea democratically voted for reunification with Russia in a referendum, or that this referendum solved the Crimean issue once and for all.