DISINFO: Pratasevich fought in the Azov Batallion
SUMMARY
The fact that Pratasevich was a member of the Azov Batallion, with which even the US Congress has concerns, seem to bother neither [Romanian MEP] Armand nor the rest of the EU parliamentarians.
RESPONSE
The claim above is part of a recurring disinformation narrative aimed at discrediting dissident Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich who was forced from a Ryanair flight by Belarusian authorities on May 23, 2021.
The claim, according to which Pratasevich was fighting alongside the so-called Azov Battalion, a much-criticised nationalist Ukrainian paramilitary formation fighting in the Donbas War, lacks substantial evidence. There is no solid proof to suggest that Pratasevich ever participated in the military activities of Azov.
According to Pratasevich himself who spoke in an interview with a Russian journalist in 2020, he had been in the war zone in Eastern Ukraine as a free-lance journalist. Along with other journalists, he covered the Donbas War along with the activities of the Battalion.
Given the ultranationalist history of the Azov Regiment, the disinformation claim is aimed at fuelling a broader disinformation narrative on the so-called power of Nazis in Ukraine. Pro-Kremlin media outlets have repeatedly tried to depict Ukraine as a "Nazi" country to justify the fights in the Donbas War. See related examples of disinformation cases here.
The disinformation narrative is exploited by pictures of Pratasevich wearing military uniform in the combat zone in Ukraine. However, the representative of the Azov Battalion, Vlaislav Sobolevsky, told Current time TV that the military uniform was provided to Pratasevich and to other foreign journalists, as well, for example, to the Lithuanian Delfi's journalists, to ensure their security. Sobolevsky denied that Pratasevich ever participated in military activity.
In a broader context, the disinformation claim is related to ongoing charges of Belarusian authorities against Pratasevich who was detained at the Minsk airport when flying from Athens to Vilnius. On 23 May 2021, the Ryanair flight from Greece to Lithuania was forced to turn back before crossing the Lithuanian border and land in the Belarusian capital. The pretext for landing in Minsk was a false report about the bomb on board. At the moment when the plane changed course, it was closer to Vilnius airport than to Minsk. The plane was forced by a Belarusian military aircraft to land in Minsk. Raman Pratasevich was detained during a repeated security check of passengers.
The EU condemned Belarusian action against civil plane and the detention of Pratasevich. In a declaration on behalf of the EU on the forced diversion of Ryanair flight FR4978 to Minsk on 23 May 2021, the High Representative called for the immediate release of Mr. Pratasevich. This was followed by a European Council statement, in which the EU leaders called for targeted individual and economic sanctions as well as to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines and prevent access to EU airports of flights operated by these.
Raman Pratasevich has become a primary target for pro-Kremlin media outlets. Explore further cases of disinformation about him here.