The US State Department on Thursday, January 20, published a list of statements by the Russian side on the conflict over Ukraine, which Washington regards as misinformation. Thus, Russia seeks to convince its own citizens of the need for a Russian military operation on Ukrainian territory, and Western countries that Kiev’s behavior threatens to provoke a global conflict, Washington notes.
State Department: “Putin’s regime puts the blame on the victim” in the face of Kiev
In particular, the United States does not agree that Ukraine and its government are allegedly an aggressor in relations with the Russian Federation. It was Russia that invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014, Washington stressed. “False claims by the Putin regime place the blame for Russian aggression on the victim, Ukraine,” the statement said.
Washington rejected the claim that it is Western countries that are pushing Ukraine into conflict. Moscow provoked the current crisis by deploying more than 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine, no such military operations have been carried out on the Ukrainian side of the border, the US Foreign Office emphasizes. “Russia blames others for its own aggression, but it is Moscow that must end this crisis peacefully through de-escalation and diplomacy,” the statement continues.
The transfer of Russian forces to the border with Ukraine
The State Department does not consider the pulling of Russian troops to the border with Ukraine just a movement of forces on Russia’s own territory, as Russian officials have repeatedly assured. “The deployment of more than 100,000 troops and offensive weapons near the borders of a country that Russia has already invaded and is still occupying parts of it is not just a rotation of troops,” Washington is sure. Moscow has not yet provided a plausible explanation for what is happening, the US Foreign Office said.
USA: Russia has repeatedly used chemical weapons to assassinate opponents
Another example of disinformation in the United States is the words of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu about an allegedly planned US chemical attack in the Donbass. The United States, like Russia, has ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention, Washington said. Russia has twice used chemical weapons in recent years to assassinate opponents, including outside its territory, the State Department noted.
In addition, Washington classifies as disinformation the statement of the head of the Kremlin, in which Putin compared what is happening in the Donbass with genocide. The State Department highlighted the lack of credible information about the threat to ethnic Russians or Russian-speakers posed by the Ukrainian government.
US State Department: NATO made no promises not to expand
Washington also rejected the assertions of the President of the Russian Federation about the violation of NATO’s promise not to expand. The alliance is a defensive alliance aimed at protecting its member states and made no promises not to accept new countries into its membership, the State Department said. And in response to the statements of the Russian side about the alleged encirclement of the Russian Federation by NATO forces, the United States recalled that the length of Russian land borders with 14 countries is more than 20 thousand kilometers, and the share of five NATO member countries accounts for only 1215 km of the common border.
Commenting on the assertions of the Russian side about the abandonment of diplomacy and the immediate transition to sanctions, Washington stressed that the United States and its partners are involved in intensive diplomatic efforts to peacefully resolve the current crisis. Consultations are also taking place at the level of direct contacts with the Russian government, the American side pointed out.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in her Telegram channel was outraged by the publication of the State Department, calling it “lies” and “illiteracy”, and the department itself – the “Ministry of Truth”.
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