DISINFO: The UK wants Ukraine conflict to go nuclear
SUMMARY
It is inadmissible for Russia to have NATO to take part in the Ukraine conflict. A conflict with Ukraine is one thing, while a conflict with NATO, which possesses nuclear arms, is another. The US is not interested in Poland sending troops to Ukraine because Washington does not want a nuclear conflict, while London is striving to make it a nuclear one.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets accusing Kyiv’s foreign partners of trying to turn the Ukraine war into a nuclear conflict. It is Moscow which constantly is doing nuclear sabre-rattling with a with to work up fear, anxiety and hesitation to support Ukriane especially in US and European populations.
This particular case is also an attempt to highlight alleged differences between Ukraine's closest allies. Similar cases claim that the United States has agreed to launch a nuclear war and that NATO has planned a nuclear war against Russia. This claim was made in the context of Russia’s full-scale invasion against Ukraine.
Ukraine and the EU said in a joint statement in August 2022 on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: “We urge the Russian Federation to immediately withdraw its military forces and all other unauthorised personnel from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, its immediate surroundings, and all of Ukraine so that the operator and the Ukrainian authorities can resume their sovereign responsibilities within Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders and the legitimate operating staff can conduct their duties without outside interference, threat, or unacceptably harsh working conditions. This will also enable the IAEA to carry out its verification pursuant to Ukraine’s safeguards obligations under safe and secure conditions and in a timely manner.”
NATO is a defensive alliance with primary aims to maintain peace and safeguard the independence, security and territorial integrity of its members. NATO constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party. NATO’s official policy is that “the Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia.”
Individual NATO member countries provide Ukraine with weapons, ammunition and many types of light and heavy military equipment, including anti-tank and air defence systems, howitzers, drones and tanks. Allied forces are also training Ukrainian troops to use this equipment, in order to help Ukraine to uphold its right of self-defence, which is enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
Ukraine’s peace formula was supported by the European leaders at an EU-Ukraine summit in February 2023. President of the European Council Charles Michel said at the news conference of the summit: “Both Ukraine and the EU share the common goal of ending this war — based on respect for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We therefore support Ukraine’s Peace Formula initiative and will actively work with Ukraine on the 10-point peace plan. We also back the idea of a Peace Formula Summit to launch this plan.”
The EU, the US, and NATO condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which is entirely unjustified and unprovoked.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Ukraine will carry out nuclear attack with British help to involve NATO in war, that The idiotic Polish Prime Minister brings his country to nuclear destruction, and that Ukraine wants to drag Poland and NATO into a nuclear conflict.