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DISINFO: Precautionary bombing forced british "Defender" to leave Russian waters

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

Tags:

Crimea International Law illegal annexation Ukrainian statehood Military exercise NATO Black Sea Provocation

DISINFO: Precautionary bombing forced british "Defender" to leave Russian waters

SUMMARY

At the end of June, the (British) destroyer "Defender" violated the Russian maritime border near Crimea, prompting the Russian Navy to fire warning shots. In addition, a Russian Su-24M launcher carried out a "precautionary bombing" to force the destroyer to return and leave Russian territorial waters.

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the illegal annexation of Crimea, painting the idea that the UK destroyer entered Russian territorial waters.

Until this date, there is no evidence that the British destroyer has engaged in any prohibited activity at the time of the alleged incident. Rather, British authorities indicated that HMS Defender was conducting a routine transit from Odesa to Georgia using an internationally recognised traffic separation corridor in the Black Sea inside Ukrainian territorial waters.

The UK Ministry of Defence also denied the claims that the HMS Defender has been fired on.

The allegation that the HMS violated Russian territorial waters is a manipulation of the issue of Crimea. The HMS Defender transited 12 miles offshore in the waters of Crimea, a territory militarily occupied and forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014 in a referendum that was not recognised by the UN, nor the EU or the UK or any international body.

See similar disinformation cases about this incident such as UK Destroyer entered Russian waters and only left after warning shots or about the occupation of Crimea such as the Crimea issue is finally closed following the results of the referendum or that the alleged coup d'etat of Maidan caused a referendum that united Crimea with Russia; or that Moscow did not violate international law when reunifying Crimea with Russia; or that UK warship presence in the Black Sea was a NATO provocation.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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