A post wants to present Russia as a victim in the war in Ukraine at all costs

The claim that “neo-Nazis” are destroying Christianity and Orthodox Christians, especially Russia, is a classic manipulation. In order to justify his military invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun to push the idea that Russia is fighting to protect Christianity and traditional values that are in the spirit of Orthodoxy. The post also shares an article claiming that before the start of the war in Ukraine, the United States deployed missile systems in Ukraine, which is not supported by any evidence

 

We analyze a post on the social network Facebook which says:

UNITED WESTERN SPIES, NATO AND NEO-NAZI-FASCISTS AGAINST ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS AND SLAVS ESPECIALLY RUSSIANS 

The claim that “neo-Nazi-fascists” (NATO and Western countries as the post refers to) are destroying Christianity and Orthodox Christians, especially Russia, is a classic manipulation. In order to justify his military invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun to push the idea that Russia is fighting to protect Christianity and the traditional values ​​that are in the spirit of Orthodoxy.

It is a myth that the West wants to destroy “traditional values”, that is, that “Russia is fighting a holy war against godless Satanists in Ukraine to protect Christianity and traditional values,” concludes Euvsdisinfo in its analysis on the Russian war in Ukraine.

Often, pro-Kremlin disinformation pundits, particularly Vladimir Solovyov deploy this disinformation narrative in conjunction with unfounded accusations against Ukraine for allegedly attempting to destroy the Orthodox Church. This manipulative tactic picked up steam in 2019 when the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was granted the status of an independent church and again in November 2022 when the Ukrainian government announced it would draw up a law banning churches affiliated with Russia, writes Euvsdisinfo.

Demonizing Ukraine and its Western backers as godless goes hand in hand with pro-Kremlin disinformation that the West wants to destroy “traditional values.”

Together, they portray Russia as the protector of these values. This disinformation narrative of protecting the threatened values is steeped in homophobia that often verges on outright hate speech, Euvsdisinfo concludes.

In the context of Russia and Putin, their supporters often emphasize Orthodoxy, but most countries with a majority Orthodox population are not on Putin’s side, but are members of NATO and/or the EU (the “neo-Nazi-fascists” mentioned in the post), or are negotiating to be so. These are: Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Moldova, and Ukraine.

Only Belarus is completely on Putin’s side. Serbia, on the other hand, communicates with Putin, but it is also an official candidate for the EU.

The fact is that Western countries are not at war with Russia and have no intention of destroying any traditional and Orthodox values ​​for which Russia proclaims itself as the sole defender.

Western countries, united through NATO and the EU, are not at war with Russia, but Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in 2022, in which a large number of civilians and soldiers died and are still dying on Ukrainian territory. This invasion is the largest military attack in Europe since World War II and is the subject of widespread international condemnation, as well as sanctions against Russia.

The post, speaking about Western countries supporting Ukraine, suggests that they are fascist. This is also part of Kremlin propaganda, which Truthmeter.mk has written about on several occasions.

The claim that Western countries, primarily EU and NATO members, are fascist, is not true.

Fascism is an extreme right-wing, authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement, characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, violent suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests to the good of the nation or race, and a strong regime of society and economy.

Western countries are united in the European Union, which, contrary to the postulates of fascism, is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are fundamentally democratic and adhere to the principles of liberal democracy, human rights and the rule of law. The EU is governed by institutions that include, among others, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the European Council. Decisions are made through democratic processes, with member states having representation and a say in policy-making. The European Parliament is elected in democratic elections held in the member states, which in turn elects the European Commission.

The EU places a strong emphasis on human rights, fundamental freedoms and the protection of minorities. It has mechanisms to uphold these principles, such as the European Court of Human Rights. On the other hand, fascist regimes are known for their oppressive nature, including censorship, persecution of political opponents and human rights violations. The EU celebrates cultural diversity and encourages cooperation between different peoples.

Fascism promotes a homogeneous national identity and often engages in aggressive nationalism and xenophobia.

The post we are analyzing also shares an article claiming that before the start of the war in Ukraine, the US deployed missile systems in Ukraine. This claim is not supported by any evidence.

The facts speak differently. Russia’s major invasion began on February 24, 2022. Prior to this date, the US had not deployed its air defense infrastructure in Ukraine. Ukraine already had a significant number of its own S-300 systems inherited from the Soviet era before 2022. The US did not deploy its missile systems (e.g. HIMARS, Patriot, ATACMS) in Ukraine until the invasion began .

There are cases where Ukrainian officers requested the Patriot system as early as August 2021, but were rejected by the United States.

From all of the above, we can conclude that the post we are analyzing is untrue.

 

 

 

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