DISINFO: Russia did not invade Ukraine
SUMMARY
Russia did not invade Ukraine. Instead, it declared a special military operation, when it had no other way to explain to the West that it engaged in criminal activities by involving Ukraine in NATO.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and NATO.
Russia's unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is not a "special operation" but an all-out war against a sovereign state. Russia has been coming up with different explanations and pretexts for its aggression. It is Russia and President Putin who are clearly responsible for the war in Ukraine.
Furthermore, the claim about Western "criminal activities" and NATO "expansion" misrepresents the process of NATO enlargement. NATO does not "expand" but considers the applications of candidate countries that want to join. Decisions on membership are taken by consensus among all Allies. NATO is a defensive alliance, whose purpose is to protect its member states, so the alliance does not attempt to contain Russia.
Ukraine-NATO cooperation before the Russian unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 was aimed at enhancing Kyiv’s defence capabilities. After Russia illegally annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and instigated a separatist revolt in Donbas in 2014, Kyiv intensified cooperation with NATO and enshrined its Euro-Atlantic drive in its Constitution.
Russia, on its side, was not entitled to interfere in relations between NATO and Ukraine because the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation signed in 1997 in Paris bans the signatories’ interference in each other’s actions.
The EU condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine and imposed restrictive measures on Russia. Read more about the EU response and support for Ukraine.
See also the Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War and The Chilling Background to the Kremlin's "No War" trope.