[Version française](https://hedgedoc.ctf.mcgill.ca/s/-zy2KA8lQ) [Versión española](https://hedgedoc.ctf.mcgill.ca/s/NPW_hdZ8i) <!--<video src="https://acloud.zaclys.com/index.php/s/297BSKCCG943BDP/download" width="420" controls><source src="https://acloud.zaclys.com/index.php/s/297BSKCCG943BDP/download" type="video/mp4"></video>--> ## "Russia attacked Ukraine because NATO or the USA were about to attack Russia" 🤔 No. Putin himself said this is not the case ([source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOCWBhuDdDo)), despite having advanced this explanation during his speech launching the invasion (a detail that did not escape Tucker Carlson: [source](https://youtu.be/waLjtcUq5Mc?si=TpFElJF4wa9Q5_cq&t=84)). --- ## "Russia attacked Ukraine because NATO broke its promise not to expand eastward" 🤔 It is often mentioned that the Americans promised the Soviet Union that NATO would not expand an inch eastward. What Mikhail Gorbachev, who was the Soviet actor at the time, said about this is: > "The topic of NATO expansion was not discussed at all, and it was not raised during those years. I say this with full responsibility. [...] Another issue we raised was discussed: ensuring that NATO's military structures would not advance and that additional alliance armed forces would not be deployed on the territory of the former GDR after German reunification. Baker's statement was made in this context. [...] This agreement was respected all these years. So do not portray Gorbachev and the Soviet authorities of that time as naive people who were led by the nose by the West. [...] Initially, Russia had no objections." ([Source](https://www.rbth.com/international/2014/10/16/mikhail_gorbachev_i_am_against_all_walls_40673.html)) **Conclusion:** The agreement referred to military installations, not new member countries. Therefore, the Kremlin's excuse of a broken promise as a reason for the invasion does not hold, since "Russia had no objections," as Gorbachev stated. Under international law, no treaty or charter co-signed by the West and the Soviet Union, and later Russia, contains any commitment regarding the future of NATO. ([Source](https://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%C3%89largissement_de_l%27OTAN#Situation_au_regard_du_droit_international)) Reunified Germany joined NATO with the agreement of the USSR. ([Source](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89largissement_de_l%27OTAN#Appartenance_de_l'Allemagne_r%C3%A9unifi%C3%A9e_%C3%A0_l'OTAN)) When the USSR collapsed, NATO lost its original purpose and reoriented its activities toward resolving the conflict in the Balkans, cybersecurity, terrorism, etc. In 1991, when Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia asked to join NATO, NATO initially said no. However, Russia's actions in the Georgian civil war, the conflict in North Ossetia, and especially the First Chechen War worried them, and they insisted. ([Source](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89largissement_de_l%27OTAN#Groupe_de_Visegr%C3%A1d)) Boris Yeltsin himself, as Russia's leader, gave Poland the green light to join NATO. In the early 1990s, efforts were made by the Americans to help Russia engage in democratization and a market economy. This is why the doors of the World Bank and the IMF were opened to Russia. ([Source](https://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%C3%89largissement_de_l%27OTAN#Deuxi%C3%A8me_temps_:_les_adh%C3%A9sions_(1992-1994))) Unfortunately, the Russian economy collapsed in 1998. The countries surrounding Russia were concerned about the situation and a Russia that was moving away from democratic principles (as was later confirmed by the imprisonment of political opponents, the modification of the Russian constitution so that Putin could be re-elected without limits...). In 2002, Putin himself had no problem with Ukraine's potential NATO membership: > "I am absolutely convinced that Ukraine will not shy away from the processes of expanding interaction with NATO and the Western allies as a whole. Ukraine has its own relations with NATO; there is the Ukraine-NATO Council. Ultimately, the decision [on Ukraine's NATO membership] must be made by NATO and Ukraine. This is a matter that concerns these two partners." ([Press release/answers to questions during a joint press conference with Kuchma](http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/21598), 05.17.02) > "Regarding Ukraine's NATO membership, the Russian president said that it has the right to make this decision independently. He does not consider this as something that could darken relations between Russia and Ukraine." (Paraphrased remarks by the Kremlin press service after a joint press conference following a Russia-NATO summit, [source](http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/43122), 05.28.02) That said, one might wonder if the accession of Eastern European countries contributed to putting pressure on Russia. It is likely, but what danger did the largest country in the world, with a powerful army and the world's largest nuclear arsenal, face? No one was going to attack Russia. The real reason is the gradual loss of its sphere of influence. More and more countries moved away from the Russian model to embrace the European and Western model and sought to protect themselves from an increasingly autocratic and aggressive Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine pushed Sweden and Finland to join NATO. This is a completely predictable reaction that did not prevent Putin from launching his war at all. And it is proof that the military threat from NATO is mostly a pretext. The threat to Russia is cultural. All of this does not exonerate the Americans (and their influence on NATO). We know very well that their foreign policy often relies on unacceptable hegemonic and violent methods. Is this a reason to be lenient with the Russian invasion? No. --- ## "Russia is a peaceful and reliable country" 🤔 Three months before invading Ukraine, Putin denied that Russia intended to attack Ukraine, noting that the Russian Federation is a "peace-loving state." ([Source](https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/784704.html)) Three months before invading Ukraine, Russian Army General Gerasimov said that rumors of Russia preparing to invade Ukraine were "lies." ([Source](https://tass.com/world/1373123)) --- ## "Russia has distanced itself from the dark era of the USSR" 🤔 In December 2024, Georgy Filimonov, governor of the Russian region of Vologda, inaugurated a new statue of the dictator Stalin. ([Source](https://x.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1870943506006716571)) --- ## "The annexation referendums in Ukrainian territories are legitimate" 🤔 1. The territorial boundaries of Ukraine were recognized in a document signed by Mr. Putin in 2003 at the UN: - [Source 1](http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/30820) - [Source 2](https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/No%20Volume/54132/Part/I-54132-08000002803fe18a.pdf) Putin himself acknowledged this on television in 2008: [source](https://twitter.com/AlasdairMcc1/status/1586278501769953280) Therefore, a referendum organized on a territory occupied by Russian military forces is an aberration. 2. According to a Russian military officer ([source](https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineWarVideoReport/comments/11bdk3s/old_interview_of_russian_military_official/)), there would have been no separatist movement in Donbas if the Russian army had not entered in 2014 to form the core of the separatist movement. 3. Between the announcement of the "referendum" and the vote, only 3 days passed, in violation of Russian rules (Russian law states that a referendum vote must take place no earlier than 60 days after its announcement) and international rules ([source](http://dppa.un.org/en/usg-dicarlo-so-called-referenda-held-russian-federation-occupied-ukrainian-territory-cannot-be-0)). 4. Normally, there is time for public debate before a referendum. There was no debate, no campaign for or against, nothing. 5. People had to vote in front of armed soldiers: - [Source 1](https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1573333979490824192) - [Source 2](https://twitter.com/temafey/status/1573290002020470784) 6. Other irregularities were observed, such as making people vote multiple times and/or preparing pre-filled ballots, as in a Russian election: [source](https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1569221977042206722). 7. Since it was organized by almost the same people, it is highly likely that the results were manipulated as in 2014 in Donetsk: [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzZbcnjI4lE&t=911s). 8. The result, which gives a 90% victory, does not mention that only a residual part of the population participated in the vote:  [Source](https://twitter.com/handinono/status/1576837808781946880) This completely invalidates the result (which was predictable since, due to the Russian invasion, hundreds of thousands of people fled). 9. Even if we imagine that the "referendums" were legitimate, they would not have been valid because two questions were included in the same vote: the desire to be independent AND the desire to join Russia. Those who would have wanted to be just independent did not have the opportunity to express it. --- ## And the genocide in Donbas perpetrated by Ukrainians? 🤔 1. Pavel Gubarev, former pro-Russian "people's governor" of Donetsk (elected by a show of hands in the street), states that it was the Russian incursion of 2014 by Igor Girkin/Strelkov into Ukraine, not the locals, that played the main role in triggering the Donbas war: [source](https://x.com/hifromnz/status/1804266820133916952). 2. Girkin/Strelkov himself said it: [source](https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/11/21/russias-igor-strelkov-i-am-responsible-for-war-in-eastern-ukraine-a41598). 3. This led to the creation of armed militias that violently attacked administrations in eastern Ukraine. The pro-Russian forces had complained about the violent overthrow of power in Kyiv, then adopted the same modus operandi: [source](https://twitter.com/Igor_from_Kyiv_/status/1568902366262398976). 4. Girkin explains how his militias surrounded Crimean deputies to force them to vote for secession: [source](https://x.com/hifromnz/status/1804266817214648442). 5. The organization of the 2014 referendum in Donetsk was manipulated, according to its organizers: [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzZbcnjI4lE&t=911s). 6. Faced with this foreign interference (Russia sent many weapons ([source](https://youtu.be/rzZbcnjI4lE?t=1833)) and military personnel ([source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzZbcnjI4lE&t=3047s))), the Ukrainian army intervened to stop the separation processes. Russia had acted in exactly the same way against Chechen separatists in 1999-2000. 7. There were unjust civilian victims and war crimes on both sides, but when people talk about 8 years of genocide, it is false. The number of victims recorded by the UN ([source](https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20as%20of%2031%20December%202021%20(rev%2027%20January%202022)%20corr%20EN_0.pdf#page=3)) was significant in 2014, then fell exponentially in the following years, from 2,084 in 2014 to 112 in 2016 and 25 in 2021. Pro-Kremlin commentators talk about 14,000 civilian deaths. This is by counting armed militias, which is illogical and manipulative. For comparison, during the Second Chechen War waged by the Russians against Chechen separatists in 1999-2000, there were between 100,000 and 300,000 civilian deaths ([source](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seconde_guerre_de_Tch%C3%A9tch%C3%A9nie)), i.e., nearly 25% of the population and nearly 100 times more victims than in Donbas. When pro-Kremlin commentators talk about genocide in Donbas, where there were 3,106 unarmed civilian victims ([source](https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20as%20of%2031%20December%202021%20(rev%2027%20January%2022)%20corr%20EN_0.pdf#page=3)), what should we think of the hundreds of thousands of deaths in Chechnya under Russian assaults? 8. When Zelensky came to power, he managed to calm the situation for a year, until February 18, 2020, when separatist and Russian forces shelled Ukrainian positions: [source](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerre_du_Donbass#2019). 9. Russian disinformation about the conflict in Donbas is very prolific: [source](http://www.russialies.com/russias-top-20-lies-about-ukraine/). --- ## Is Ukraine a country of Nazis? 🤔 There are Nazis in Ukraine (in residual quantities), as everywhere and as in Russia. The narrative that Ukraine is a country of Nazis is very effective with Russian public opinion (due to the trauma caused by World War II) and serves to create support for the "special operation." However: 1. Ukraine is the least anti-Semitic country in Eastern Europe:  [Source](https://twitter.com/JasonPates/status/1577906781518548993) Note that in Russia, people who do not accept Jews are three times more numerous than in Ukraine. 2. On September 29, the Ukrainian Armed Forces commemorated the victims of Nazism: [source](https://twitter.com/GeneralStaffUA/status/1575479797995560962). 3. Zelensky was named by the Jerusalem Post as the "[most influential Jew of the year](https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1574019367888625665)." 4. On December 23, 2022, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine, Moshe Reuven Azman, posed with the Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief Valery Zaluzhny, to demonstrate that the narrative about Nazi Ukraine is false:  [Source](https://twitter.com/myroslavapetsa/status/1606299821102481417) Russia, an exemplary country without Nazis and without relations with the Nazis? Let's see... 1. Dmitri Outkine, the founder of the Wagner Group (Russian mercenaries admired and mobilized by the Kremlin), is an [admirer of the Third Reich](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupe_Wagner). He was [decorated by Putin himself in 2016](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Outkine). 2. The ties between Russia (the Soviet Union at the time) and Nazi Germany were strong before Hitler decided to turn against his ally. In May and June 1940, the Soviet Union supplied Nazi Germany with 163,000 tons of oil and 243,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat to help them in their "mission": [source](https://twitter.com/HoansSolo/status/1576493625693057025). 3. The commander of the Russian brigade "Rusich," Aleksei Milchakov, openly declared, "I am a Nazi, I am a Nazi": [source](https://twitter.com/AlasdairMcc1/status/1561983490152771585). 4. A Russian prisoner of war: "I, Vukolov Vadim Vadimovich, came to Ukraine to fight the Nazis." His tattoos: 1) Stylized swastika; 2,3) Iron Cross with Nazi swastika; 4) Stylized swastika "kolovrat"; 5,6) Classic Nazi swastika; 7) Odal-rune (banned in Germany); 8) The Nazi slogan "Blood and Soil."   [Source](https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1616064581914316801) 5. In 2011, thousands of nationalists giving the Nazi salute marched through the streets of Moscow to protest against Muslim migrants. [Source](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057649/Nazi-saluting-nationalists-Take-Russia-march-Moscow-Muslim-migrants.html). 6. More information and documents on the Nazi movement in Russia: - [Source 1](https://twitter.com/Anna_Guderian/status/1583589211944673285) - [Source 2](https://twitter.com/juanMmunozc/status/1642629868742377473) Russian disinformation about Nazis in Ukraine is continuous. 1. A pro-Russian newspaper in Kherson published a photo to prove the presence of Nazis in Ukraine, except that the photo is from a **Nazi demonstration in Moscow** in 2012.   [Source](https://twitter.com/marcbennetts1/status/1578426400091955201) 2. A supposed photo of a Ukrainian neo-Nazi wedding circulated in pro-Kremlin circles, except that it is a manipulated image of a wedding in Novokuznetsk, **Russia**, with the flag of the **Russian Empire** in the background.    [Source](https://twitter.com/Shayan86/status/1566857240484642827) --- ## What is the Russian mindset regarding Ukraine? 🤔 1. Putin to then-U.S. President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the NATO summit in April 2008 in Bucharest: > "You don't understand, **Ukraine is not even a state**. What is Ukraine? Part of its territories are in Eastern Europe, but the largest part is a **gift from us**." Cited in "[Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin](https://www.brookings.edu/book/mr-putin-new-and-expanded/)" by Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy, p. 360. 2. Pro-Putin rally in Moscow in 2015. The chants were: > "Only Russia matters! Only victory matters!" > "Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, together we are the sacred Rus!" > "Let's regain the borders of the Soviet Union!" [Source](https://www.facebook.com/UkrInfosSousRadars/videos/1453089801936991/) 3. In 2016, on stage, Putin told a child that **Russia's borders "have no limits"**: [source](https://twitter.com/mjluxmoore/status/1575822408711143424). 4. Gennady Onishchenko, head of the Russian sanitary service, declared: > "Our goal is the return of Ukraine to the Russian state." [Source](https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1631267481238028288) (March 2019) 5. Vladlen Tatarsky, a blogger close to the Kremlin, invited to the annexation ceremony, declared: > "We will conquer everyone, **we will kill everyone, we will plunder whoever we want**, and everything will be as we wish." [Source](https://x.com/GoncharenkoUa/status/1575890822590889984) (September 2022) 6. Sergey Lavrov, head of Russian diplomacy, in his speech during the validation of the annexation of Ukrainian territories, said that other territories > "will be **added to the list**" The idea is not to limit themselves to eastern Ukraine. [Source](https://twitter.com/WhereisRussia/status/1576971245786398721) (October 2022) 7. On state Russian TV, Deputy Dmitry Sablin declared: > "We must not doubt that the people [in Ukraine] support us. It's more than that, I am convinced that further into the territory of Ukraine, the people will support us too. The vast majority of the Ukrainian population will support us. We come with our just cause, and we are liberating them from all this. We are liberating them from constant fear and stress." [Source](https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1576796427409559558) (starting at 4:38) (October 2022) 8. This same deputy casually stated that **Belarus is Russia**, even though there was a guest from Belarus (a Kremlin ally in the war) present on the set, who was **forced to correct him**: [source](https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1576796427409559558) (starting at 5:26) (October 2022) 9. Andrei Sidorov, from Moscow State University, declared on Russian TV: > "We must take what is ours, and **in principle all of Ukraine is ours**." [Source](https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1578377422268940288) (October 2022) He also declared that "**Ukraine, as a nation, should not exist**": [source](https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1579279261592354817) (October 2022) 10. Zakhar Prilepin, a writer, realized on Russian TV that Russians are not welcome at all by Ukrainians and declared, referring to the annexed regions: > "We need to **de-occupy the territories we need**" That is, empty them of their population hostile to the Russians. [Source](https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1579292010288406530) (October 2022) 11. Pavel Gubarev ([Wikipedia](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Goubarev)), former governor of the "Donetsk People's Republic" (elected by a show of hands in the street in 2014) and a prominent pro-Russian figure, stated their intentions toward Ukrainians: > "These people **are actually Russians possessed by the devil**. We are not coming to kill you, but to convince you. **But if you do not want to be convinced, we will kill you**. We will kill as many as necessary: 1 million, 5 million, **or exterminate you all**. Until you understand that you are possessed and need to be cured [...] [Ukrainians] are damn **Satanist possessed**." [Source](https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1579820810751324160) (October 2022) 12. Statements by Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic under Russian administration, and steadfast supporter of Putin: > "**We will not capture these demons, we will burn them**" (referring to Ukrainians). "We will not stop, this is our territory [...] **The regions and Ukraine in general are our territory**, Russian territory." [Source](https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1585087779729702912) (October 2022) 13. One of the main presenters of Russian state television, Sergey Mardan, explained that Russia does not have to respect international rules and agreements, and that North Korea is a model to follow. [Source](https://twitter.com/olex_scherba/status/1621823453090258950) (February 2023) 14. In an intercepted call, a Russian soldier explained to his wife that: 1. He shot unarmed Ukrainians who had surrendered at point-blank range. 2. It was filmed. 3. He would not be sanctioned for it by his superiors. 4. He would do it again and kill as many Ukrainians as he could, even children. [Source](https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1636490588961796097) (March 2023) 15. Russian journalist [Anton Krassovski](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Krassovski) declared on Russian state television: > "A strong Russian empire is a good thing [...] and I consider all those who fight against Russian imperialism as enemies of Russia." > "Naturally, I believe, like any normal Russian, that Ukraine does not exist and that it is only the Russian empire." > "I even consider Warsaw to be a Russian city." [Source](https://twitter.com/adnashmyash/status/1721227353957797927) (November 2023) --- ## "Russia liberated Europe from the Nazis" 🤔 Indeed, when the Nazis tried to invade the Soviet Union, the Soviets managed to defeat them, which marked the beginning of the fall of the Nazis. But: 1. They were able to do so thanks to American equipment. In total, American deliveries to the USSR through Lend-Lease amounted to $11 billion in material: more than 400,000 jeeps and trucks; 12,000 armored vehicles; 11,400 aircraft, and 1.75 million tons of food. [Source](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prêt-bail) Georgy Zhukov, Chief of Staff of the USSR in 1941, stated: > When analyzing our state of preparedness for war in terms of economy and industry, one cannot ignore the factor of Allied aid that followed, mainly that of the Americans [...]. Without American gunpowder, we would have found ourselves in a disastrous situation, unable to produce the amount of ammunition we needed. Without American Studebakers, we would have had no means to tow our artillery. [...] The production of special steels needed for various military uses also depended on several American deliveries. [Source](https://militera.lib.ru/memo/usa/stettinius/06.html) In 1963, Russian security services recorded one of his private statements: > Today, people say that the Allies never helped us... But how can we deny that the Americans sent us so much material, without which we could not have built up our reserves or continued the war... We had neither explosives nor gunpowder. We had nothing to fill our rifle cartridges with. The Americans really saved us with their gunpowder and explosives. And how much sheet steel did they send us! Could we have quickly set up tank production without American steel? And now, people claim that we had all this in abundance. [Source](https://theins.press/en/antifake/281146) Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the USSR between 1953 and 1964, wrote in his memoirs: > I wish [...] to honestly report Stalin's view on the question of whether the Red Army and the Soviet Union could have defeated Nazi Germany without the help of the United States and Great Britain. [...] He frankly stated that without the help of the United States, we would not have won the war: alone against Nazi Germany, we could not have withstood the onslaught and we would have lost. [...] We lost the largest aircraft, tank, and engine factories. And the Stalingrad tractor plant? We lost that too. It also housed a major artillery plant[...]. Imagine the disaster that befell us. We found ourselves without means of transport, without factories producing vehicles[...]. We had no means of transport left! It was then that the Americans and the British intervened[...]. They provided us with aircraft, vehicles, and weapons. When I saw the trucks we received, I couldn't believe my eyes. And they arrived in large numbers. [...] I want to emphasize the quality and quantity of the machines we received. Can you imagine how we could have advanced from Stalingrad to Berlin without them? I cannot. [Source](https://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/khruschev1/28.html) 2. The Soviets bear **direct responsibility** for the outbreak of World War II by signing the **Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact** with the Nazis in 1939. This pact consisted of not attacking each other and **dividing Poland and Eastern Europe**. Thanks to this pact, Hitler was able to invade Poland without fearing a Russian reaction. And since France and Great Britain had committed to defending Poland, they had to enter the war. [Source](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/fr/article/german-soviet-pact) --- ## "Zelensky has no power to stop the war" 🤔 ### (implied "he is taking orders from someone else") This is a narrative spread by pro-Russian sectors. Putin himself said that he considered Zelensky to indeed have the power to stop the war: [source](https://youtu.be/fOCWBhuDdDo?si=DJJpDD_xm2yyhPb0&t=5808). --- ## "Life is better in Russia" 🤔 Let's check... ### Violent crimes in Russian families Every 10 minutes, a violent crime is committed in a Russian family. Despite this, Fedor Lukyanov, head of the family commission of the Russian Orthodox Church, considers that the problem of domestic violence is exaggerated. Official statistics published by Rosstat may be incomplete, as they do not include crimes committed against ex-partners, sexual partners, nephews, or grandchildren. [Source](https://nasiliu.net/pochti-chetvert-prestuplenij-s-naneseniem-tyazhkih-telesnyh-povrezhdenij-sovershaetsya-v-semyah-issledovanie-czentra-nasiliyu-net/) --- ## For more information [Source 1](https://www.facebook.com/UkrInfosSousRadars/) [Source 2](https://t.me/Ukr_infos_sous_radars)