DISINFO: It is not a war, it is the liberation of Ukrainians from neo-fascism
SUMMARY
Draw a parallel between the Battle of Stalingrad and what is happening in Ukraine today. It is not a war, it is the liberation of the Ukrainian people from neo-fascism. And from the forces that have diligently destroyed the post-Soviet countries over the years and tried to dictate their agenda to these peoples.
Today the whole world attacked Russia. The country is at war with the whole world. Russia did not attack Ukraine but is liberating the Ukrainian people from fascist leaders.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine, portraying it as a country ruled by Nazis. This narrative served as one of the pretexts for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine, which he called a special military operation citing NATO’s military infrastructure approaching the Russian border as a pretext. Another pretext for the so-called operation is the “demilitarization and denazification” of Ukraine.
The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine is a clear propaganda narrative that became a cornerstone in pro-Kremlin disinformation.
In 2015 Ukraine issued a ban on Nazi and Communist ideologies. On top of that, the far-right groups had a limited presence during the Euromaidan protests and have suffered defeats in every national election after that, with a united front of all radical right-wing parties in the 2019 parliamentary elections winning only 2.15% of the vote falling far short of the 5% minimum guaranteeing entry into parliament.
Learn more about the reasons behind Kremlin's obsession with framing Ukraine as a Nazi state in the EUvsDisinfo analysis titled "Why does Putin portray himself as the tamer of neo-Nazism".
See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.