DISINFO: Washington and Brussels pushed Ukraine towards civil war
SUMMARY
In the winter of 2013-2014, the Maidan Revolution in Kyiv ousted former President Viktor Yanukovich who had refused to ratify an association agreement with the European Union, getting closer to Vladimir Putin‘s Russia. A diplomatic disaster for Europe: Washington and Brussels proposing such an agreement actually forced Ukraine to choose a side, pushing the country to a civil war, while it had been a buffer between the West and Russia until then. The conflict turned into a disaster for the Ukrainian army. But how was this possible? How could a region of 3 million people and its army of 10-15,000 insurgents stand up to a country of 40 million and its 150,000 soldiers? Do not forget that the people of Donbas defend their home, their land, their history, their heritage. One must understand one thing Russia absolutely did not want this war in Donbas. One thing is certain, it was not the Russians who provoked this war.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the civil war in Ukraine. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court recognised that “the information available suggests that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation". The international armed conflict began at the latest on 26 February 2014 when the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government. The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation". At the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014, NATO leaders condemned in the strongest terms Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and demanded Russia to stop and withdraw its forces from Ukraine and from the country’s border. NATO leaders also demanded Russia to comply with international law and its international obligations and responsibilities; refrain from aggressive actions against Ukraine; halt the flow of weapons, equipment, people and money across the border to the separatists; and stop fomenting tension along and across the Ukrainian border. Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted Russia's military presence in Ukraine in 2015.