DISINFO: Ukraine did not plan to implement the Minsk agreements
SUMMARY
Russia's goal is to end the war started by Ukraine in 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated this in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson.
What was the trigger in the latest events [Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022]? Firstly, Ukraine stated that it would not implement the Minsk agreements. Nobody wanted this [a diplomatic solution], everyone wanted to resolve the issue only with the help of military force. But [Russia] couldn't allow this. Ukraine started the war back in 2014. [Russia's] goal is to end this war. [Russia] didn’t start it in 2022, this is an attempt to stop it.
RESPONSE
These are multiple recurring disinformation narratives from pro-Kremlin outlets claiming that Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine is justified. This narrative claims that the West is responsible for the war, because Kyiv allegedly did not implement the Minsk agreements.
This disinformation is a reference to President Vladimir Zelenskyy's interview with Le Figaro and Der Spiegel in February 2023.
Answering a question regarding the efficacy of the Minsk agreements, Zelenskyy noted that the document was drafted in a manner aimed at freezing the Russian invasion in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. According to the President of Ukraine, the Minsk agreements represent a concession to Russia and an accord that could not be fulfilled without Ukraine forfeiting territories. The Ukrainian president once again underscored that it was Russia which failed to adhere to the agreement and progressively widened the extent of aggression against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy did not state that Ukraine was unwilling to implement the Minsk agreements. Instead, he highlighted the fact that the Minsk agreements stalled the diplomatic process for the recovery of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions occupied by Russia.
Ukraine’s readiness for a diplomatic settlement and negotiations with Russia is confirmed, at a minimum, by the signing of the first and second Minsk agreements in 2014-2015. Ukraine also regularly participated in meetings of the Trilateral Contact Group for a peaceful settlement, but Russia continued its escalation and carried out a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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