DISINFO: The whole of NATO is fighting Russia with the hands of Ukrainian neo-Nazis
SUMMARY
The Russian Defence Ministry does not downplay the complexity of the military actions in Ukraine. It would be surprising if the battles were not complicated, considering that the entire of NATO is fighting the Russians with the hands of Ukrainian neo-Nazis, using a wide range of military technologies from satellite reconnaissance to espionage at the level of special services.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets claiming that NATO is waging a proxy war against Russia, using Ukraine as a tool. The article also exploits the narrative about Nazi Ukraine. This claim was made in the context of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine is not a proxy for any foreign government or organisation. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically elected president and parliament. Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity have been violated only as a result of continuous acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since 2014, culminating in a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine starting on 24 February 2022.
NATO is not engaged in combat with Russia. While NATO members have provided support to Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression, this does not constitute NATO being at war with Russia.
The US, the EU and NATO condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is entirely unjustified and unprovoked. Not only Western but also many other nations around the world support Ukraine with military and financial aid for the country’s efficient self-defence, by the UN Charter article 51, to stop Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine is defending itself, its territorial integrity, national self-identity, and sovereignty against Russia's armed aggression. The decision to defend itself was made solely by Ukraine, its lawful leaders and government, and its citizens.
Labelling Russia’s adversaries as Nazis is a very frequently used pro-Kremlin disinformation technique, and has been used by Russia to try to justify the invasion of Ukraine by portraying it as a “denazification operation”. Russia spent years preparing the information battleground prior to its full-scale invasion, with “Nazi Ukraine” being one of its most prominent disinformation features.
Read our analysis titled Key narratives in pro-Kremlin disinformation: “Nazis” and "Why does Putin portray himself as the tamer of neo-Nazism".
See similar cases: the US will fight Russia until the last Ukrainian; Russia is at war with NATO and the Pentagon and only the soldiers are Ukrainians; EU, US, and NATO use Ukrainians as cannon fodder; the US proxy war against Russia has turned Ukraine into a graveyard; the conflict in Ukraine is a Western proxy war against Russia.