A non-partisan research post - London
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The Truth About Ukraine Starts to Leak Out
But claiming Russia was provoked into war still means you're a Russian stooge
"The conspiracies about Ukraine are like all the rest - after a few years the conspiracy theorists are proven correct. First you are called a Russian stooge for suggesting NATO expansion may have provoked Russia to invade Ukraine, before the truth starts to slowly drip out. A few more years and The Guardian will be lecturing us on biolabs in Ukraine! . . ."
None of this should come as any surprise to anyone who follows this thread.
a quick gander and ....
NATO's rebuttal..copy & past from NATO site (note: within limits of available time did not find any direct Russian '
authoritative' citations for comparison - unhappy YouTubers with psychological and personality disorders grinding their agenda axes are not authoritative or credible)
NATO: Setting the record straight
De-bunking Russian disinformation on NATO
Russia's illegal war of aggression against Ukraine has shattered peace in Europe. NATO's
Strategic Concept states that Russia is the most significant and direct threat to Allies' security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. Russia wants to establish spheres of influence and
control other countries through coercion, subversion, aggression and annexation. It uses conventional, cyber and hybrid means – including disinformation – against NATO Allies and partners.
NATO does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia. The Alliance will continue to respond to Russian threats and actions in a united and responsible way. We are significantly strengthening our deterrence and defence, supporting our partners, and enhancing our resilience. This includes calling out Russia's actions and countering disinformation.
Myth:
NATO is at war with Russia in Ukraine
FACT
NATO is not at war with Russia. We do not seek confrontation with Russia. NATO supports Ukraine in its right to self-defence, as enshrined in the
UN Charter. In response to Russia's aggressive actions, we continue to strengthen our deterrence and defence to make sure there is no room for misunderstanding that NATO is ready to protect and defend every Ally.
NATO is a defensive Alliance. Our core task is to keep our nations safe. At the
Vilnius Summit, Allies reaffirmed their iron-clad commitment to defend every inch of Allied territory at all times. We will continue to protect our one billion people, and safeguard freedom and democracy, in accordance with
Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.
Myth:
NATO promised Russia it would not expand after the Cold War
FACT
Such an agreement was never made. NATO’s
door has been open to new members since it was founded in 1949. This has never changed. No treaty signed by NATO Allies and Russia included provisions on NATO membership. Decisions on NATO membership are taken by consensus among all Allies. Russia does not have a veto.
The idea of NATO enlargement beyond a united Germany was not on the agenda in 1989, particularly as the Warsaw Pact still existed until 1991. Mikhail
Gorbachev said in an interview in 2014: "The topic of 'NATO expansion' was not discussed at all, and it wasn't brought up in those years. I say this with full responsibility. Not a single Eastern European country raised the issue, not even after the Warsaw Pact ceased to exist in 1991. Western leaders didn't bring it up either."
Individual Allies cannot make agreements on NATO’s behalf. President Clinton consistently refused Boris Yeltsin's offer to commit that no former Soviet Republics would join NATO: "I can't make commitments on behalf of NATO, and I'm not going to be in the position myself of vetoing NATO expansion with respect to any country, much less letting you or anyone else do so… NATO operates by consensus," he said.
The wording “NATO expansion” is already part of the myth. NATO did not hunt for new members or want to “expand eastward.” NATO respects every nation’s right to choose its own path. NATO membership is a decision for NATO Allies and those countries who wish to join alone.
Myth:
NATO is aggressive
FACT
NATO is a defensive alliance. It does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia, or any other nations. NATO did not invade Georgia. NATO did not invade Ukraine. Russia did.
NATO made significant efforts over many years to establish a strategic partnership with Russia. We established the NATO-Russia Council and worked together on issues ranging from counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism to submarine rescue and civil emergency planning, even during periods of NATO enlargement.
It was Russia that gradually chipped away at any hopes of peaceful cooperation, with its pattern of increasing aggressive behaviour, from Grozny to Georgia and Aleppo to Ukraine.
NATO Allies engaged in persistent diplomatic efforts to convince Russia to change its course. NATO held a last meeting of the NATO-Russia Council in January 2022 to call on President Putin to step back from the brink. President Putin chose war.
Myth:
NATO's deployments are a threat to Russia
FACT
In response to Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and destabilisation of eastern Ukraine in 2014, NATO suspended practical cooperation with Russia, while maintaining political and military dialogue. We deployed four multinational battlegroups to the Baltic States and Poland in 2016. Before Russia's aggressive actions in 2014, there was no deployment of combat-ready NATO troops in the eastern part of the Alliance.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NATO has further reinforced its deterrence and defence posture. We have doubled the number of multinational battlegroups in the east of the Alliance from four to eight and put 40,000 troops under direct NATO command. We will continue to do what is needed to protect and defend every inch of Allied soil.
NATO exercises and military deployments are not directed against Russia, or any other country. Outside NATO territory, the Alliance has a KFOR peacekeeping mission in Kosovo based on a United Nations Security Council mandate, and a train and assist mission in Iraq contributing to the fight against terrorism at the request of the Iraqi government.
It is Russia's aggressive actions that have shattered peace in Europe and are undermining international security and stability. As well as its aggression against Ukraine, Russia has military bases and soldiers in Georgia and Moldova without the consent of their governments.
Myth:
NATO is encircling Russia
FACT
Russia is the world's largest country geographically. It is almost twice the size of the US and China.
When Finland joined the Alliance in April 2023, NATO's land border with Russia more than doubled. Even after Finland's accession, only 11% of Russia's land border is shared with NATO countries.
No one has backed Russia into a corner. It is hard to encircle a country with eleven time zones.
Myth:
Ukraine will not join NATO
FACT
Ukraine will become a member of NATO. NATO supports the every country's right to choose its own security arrangements, including Ukraine. NATO's door remains open. NATO Allies decide on NATO membership. Russia does not have a veto.
At the
Vilnius Summit, Allies reaffirmed the commitment they made at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance when conditions are met and Allies agree. They agreed to remove the requirement for a Membership Action Plan, changing Ukraine's membership path from a two-step to a one-step process.
NATO is stepping up its political and practical cooperation with Ukraine. President Zelenskyy attended the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the Vilnius Summit, a platform for crisis consultation and decision-making between equals.
NATO has also agreed a new multi-year assistance programme to help the Ukrainian armed forces transition from Soviet-era to NATO standards and strengthen Ukraine's security and defence sector to resist further Russian aggression. Ukraine is already closer to NATO that it has ever been. In Vilnius, Allied leaders reiterated that Ukraine's future is in NATO.
Myth:
NATO's out of area operations prove that the Alliance is not defensive
FACT
NATO intervened in the former Yugoslavia to stop bloodshed and save lives. From 1992-1995, NATO conducted several military operations in Bosnia, including enforcing a no-fly-zone and providing air support for UN peacekeepers. These activities were mandated by the United Nations Security Council, of which Russia is a member. NATO air strikes against Bosnian Serb positions in 1995 helped pave the way for the Dayton peace agreement, which ended the war in Bosnia that had killed over 100,000 people. From 1996, NATO led multinational peacekeeping forces in Bosnia, which included troops from Russia. The European Union took over that mission in 2004.
NATO's operation in Kosovo in 1999 followed a year of intense international diplomatic efforts, which included Russia, to end the conflict. The UN Security Council repeatedly branded the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and the growing number of refugees as a threat to international peace and security. NATO's mission helped to end large-scale and sustained violations of human rights and the killing of civilians. KFOR, NATO's ongoing peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, has a UNSC mandate (
UNSCR 1244) and is supported by both Belgrade and Pristina.
The NATO-led operation in Libya in 2011 was launched under the authority of two UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs 1970 and 1973), neither of which was opposed by Russia.
UNSCR 1973 authorised the international community "to take all necessary measures" to "protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack". This is what NATO did, with the political and military support of regional states and members of the Arab League.
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