DISINFO: Putin offered Ukraine to help restore Donbas, but Ukraine declined
SUMMARY
Putin conveyed his support to help the restoration and recovery of Donbas through Lukashenka, who in turn talked to former Ukrainian President Poroshenko. However, Poroshenko refused. This was an obvious sign that Ukrainian politicians are not independent and that Putin cannot be blamed for the failure of the peace talks.
RESPONSE
A disinformation narrative which makes the unsubstantiated claim that president Putin offered to help in the restoration process of Donbas, an offer which was supposedly refused by former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. The article employs recurring disinformation narratives that attempt to put Ukraine’s statehood in doubt and portray Russia as a benign actor by claiming that Ukraine is under external control and that Putin is blameless for the lack of a peace settlement.
Ever since the start of the War in Ukraine in 2014, the Russian authorities has never shown any willingness to stop interfering in Eastern Ukraine or help in the restoration of Ukraine's eastern regions, nor indeed its territorial integrity, which Russia has violated by illegally annexing Crimea and supporting separatist in Eastern Ukraine with troops, equipment, and resources. The build-up of Russian military forces on Ukraine’s border in March and April 2021 and the aggressive rhetoric by Russia’s leadership contradicts the notion that President Putin wishes to help in the restoration of Donbas. In fact, on the same day that the article in question was published, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy once again stressed the need for a diplomatic solution and invited Putin to peace talks in Eastern Ukraine.
Read similar disinformation cases in the database which claim that Russia wants peace in Donbas, that without Russia there can be no peace because the West only causes chaos and wars, that Zelenskyy is unable to make independent decisions and follows U.S. instructions, and that Ukraine is acting according to the dictates of the West.