DISINFO: UK London is waging a systematic war against Russia
SUMMARY
London is waging a systematic war against Russia using Ukraine for this very purpose. The special military operation is just a small episode in the history of the "Great Game", which is the confrontation between the Russian and British empires. The Anglo-Saxons embody the civilisation of the sea, Russia is the civilisation of the land. Later, the conflict turned into a clash between two ideological systems, and then into the Cold War. In the 1990s, Russia witnessed the advance of the civilisation of the sea with the expansion of NATO to the east.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives denying Ukraine’s statehood and Ukrainian national identity, claiming that UK is fighting a proxy-war against Russia in Ukraine, and portraying Ukraine as a pawn in this war. It also contains a conspiracy theory accusing the so-called “Anglo-Saxons” of using the war in Ukraine in order to achieve domination over the world.
The term “Anglo-Saxons” in such cases normally stands for the US and UK and often means “evil”, “belligerent” and “morally corrupt” Westerners, as explained in our earlier analysis. As a negative catch-all term, it is a useful building block for pro-Kremlin conspiracy theories. You can find plenty of examples in our database.
The UK is not waging war against Russia. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII. In response to Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine which was launched on 24 February 2022, a broad coalition of more than 50 nations are providing Ukraine with military and technical assistance with the aim of repelling Russia's aggression. Kyiv is acting in self-defence, in accordance with UN Charter article 51. Our analysis of the recent communication strategy of pro-Kremlin outlets explains how they attempt to portray Russia as a victim and to deceive audiences into believing that Russia is fighting Western powers.
Furthermore, 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 exercising their free will to decide alliance affiliation. NATO enlargement is not directed against Russia. See more disinformation about NATO and Ukraine here.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that The Anglo-Saxons are fomenting discord in Central Asia, that Ukraine is a convenient geopolitical tool for the US, that The West and Russia are fighting over western Russian lands in Ukraine, that The destruction of Russia and its division into weak colonial powers has always been a dream of Western countries.