Thanks to the “special military operation”, the West has failed to wipe Russia off the face of the earth, according to a false narrative by Russian state media that quotes Vladimir Putin's speech at the May 9 Victory Day Parade. In reality, Russia is the aggressor, and the “special military operation” is an invasion condemned by most of the world's states.
Russia must designate Ukraine a terrorist state because it attacked the Kremlin and other targets, such as the Moskva flagship, the Russian government media writes. In fact, Kyiv has responded to the invasion by striking military targets, whereas the attack on the Kremlin raises suspicion regarding who the author actually is. Moreover, Russia itself has been declared a terrorist state by international bodies.
Maia Sandu has called a pro-European rally, patterned on the Great National Assemblies that culminated in 1991 with the Republic of Moldova proclaiming its independence. The decision was announced in the context where Moscow and pro-Russian forces in Chișinău have ramped up pressure on the pro-European government. It’s a risky bet, which Moldova will win only if the rally enjoys a turnout similar to public gatherings of the 1990s.
Many Ukrainians hope the war will be won thanks to the counteroffensive that is being prepared by their army. Some officials, though, seem to be trying to temper the population's expectations. In the other camp, Russia has launched a series of false counter-offensive narratives, but at the same time appears to be preparing to explain to its people a potential Ukrainian success.
The rapprochement between Romania and the Republic of Moldova and “Romanianism” are elements of a hybrid attack by the West against Russia's interests, according to a false narrative published online. The narrative promotes the theses of Moldovanism in an attempt to justify Russia’s “right” to decide the Republic of Moldova’s policies.
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Russia’s aggressiveness in Europe has prompted several countries to renounce their neutrality or to rethink this concept. The question to ask is if the neutrality status is a naïve strand of pacifism or a strategy, which many are now reworking.
The candidates supported by the former president Igor Dodon, and the fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor respectively, got the largest number of votes in the first round of the elections for the office of Governor of Gagauzia. The campaign was marked by the promotion of Russian propaganda narratives, the involvement of some Russian politicians and artists, but also by a diplomatic scandal between the Republic of Moldova and Russia.
Poland will attack Belarus and annex the Ukrainian region of Lviv when the order comes from the US and Britain, which caused the war in Ukraine, according to a false narrative by Russian state media. In reality, Warsaw is supporting Ukraine's defense efforts against Russia's full-scale invasion, carried out with the direct support of Minsk.
Romania will occupy the regions of Chernivtsi and Odesa, writes the Russian propaganda press after the former president Dmitry Medvedev proposed a “quiet partition” of Ukraine. In reality, Romania unconditionally supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity and is helping Kyiv deal with the aggression of the Russian Federation.
Russia’s ambassador to Bulgaria recently expressed support – a diplomatic faux pas – for the Bulgarian far-right, anti-Western and anti-Ukraine Revival party. Revival came third in the April 2 elections, fifth of its kind in the last two years, and if the current political stalemate continues, it stands a good chance to become a major political force at the next snap election.
Integritatea teritorială a României este amenințată și doar o apropiere de Moscova ar putea împiedica pierderea Transilvaniei, potrivit unei narațiuni false promovate de senatoarea independentă Diana Șoșoacă. În realitate, integritatea teritorială a României e garantată de apartenența la NATO și de legislația internațională.
Ukraine is a pseudo-state led by Nazis and driven by the West to trigger a war against Russia, according to a false narrative picked up by pro-Kremlin media. In fact, neither Kyiv nor the West ever wanted a war, which was launched by Russia to conquer new territories.
The Ukrainian political leaders ignored Vladimir Putin’s warning 23 years ago, regarding the danger of NATO starting a war against Russia and the Ukrainian people, the Russian state press writes. In reality, the war in Ukraine was started by Russia, and the talk about NATO policies 23 years ago is a mere fabrication.
The Ukrainian army has publicly got the US’s approval to bomb towns on the territory of the Russian Federation, according to a false narrative disseminated by the Russian state media. In reality, the US has clearly discouraged potential operations on Russian territory, but has recognized Ukraine's right to operate on its own territory, including the one illegally annexed by Moscow.
A number of Ukrainian brigades report directly to the Pentagon and will be sent to certain death as part of an offensive in southern and southeastern Ukraine, according to a false narrative disseminated by the Russian media. In fact, Ukrainian combat units are subordinated to the Ukrainian Defense Staff, and the newly created brigades are made up particularly of seasoned servicemen.
Ukraine will be killing a number of people included on the website Mytrovorets, which allegedly shows the next targets of Kyiv, says the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova. In fact, the said website is a private project meant to draw attention towards people who are, one way or another, supporting Russia’s interests, irrespective of their country of origin.
After Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014, the Russian oligarchs or others close to them continued to make money in Ukraine, where they invested in telephone networks, banks, industry, the energy sector and tourism. Many of these businesses have kept bringing money to the Russians even after the February 2022 full-scale invasion.
The government in Chișinău is backing anti-Russian hysteria, whereas the Ukrainian army is responsible for war crimes, are two of the messages conveyed by the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova. The Russian official commented on a speech by Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, where the president referred to the Russian dangers and threats in the context of the war in Ukraine.
The USA is dictating Romanian policy, it seeks to destroy the EU and is waging a war against Russia, according to a number of false narratives promoted by the former Foreign Minister of Romania, Adrian Severin, a former convicted criminal. The narratives have emerged from an open letter the politician turned criminal has conveyed to the new Ambassador of the USA in Romania, Kathleen Kavalec.
Russia and China are looking for peace solutions in Ukraine, while the West wants a protracted war, according to Russian state media reporting on the talks in Moscow between Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. In reality, it is Russia that started the war and is continuing it by keeping troops in Ukraine and trying to seize even more of that country's territory.
Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream was recently forced to drop a Russian-inspired bill. The party seems determined to return to this project, which may compromise Georgia's European path, but is promoted by Russian propaganda. The problem for the Georgian Dream - and for Moscow - is that most of the population opts for Euro-Atlantic integration.
Two Western diplomats visited the Republic of Moldova last week to discuss its involvement in the war in Ukraine, writes the Donetk publication trmsk.ru. In reality, the talks did not concern Moldova's involvement in the war; on the contrary, the country is actually exposed to the risk of a Russian operation.
Putin’s Russia is a conglomerate of toxic residue carried over from successive historical eras. From Russia’s imperial past, Russia inherited the fixation of becoming a global power. From the Soviet era, Putin sought to capitalize on the symbolic remnants of the superpower status, to make Russians believe this chapter in Russia’s history represented the pinnacle of their political existence. He added to this legacy the cynical and cunning attitudes specific to the criminal underworld, and he wrapped them in the illusion of power and wealth, to conceal the ruin and rot of widespread corruption.
Kyiv does not want to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency to create a protection zone at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and wants to cause a nuclear accident there, pro-Kremlin media say, citing several Russian officials. In reality, the creation of this protection zone can only take place through demilitarization, that is, if the Russian troops withdraw from the territory of the plant, an option that Moscow is not even considering.
A survey conducted in the Republic of Moldova, trying to assess the impact of disinformation, “fell prey” to Russian propaganda. Politnavigator.net has misused and misrepresented data in our survey in order to depict the Moldovan population as increasingly supportive of Russia’s cause in the war in Ukraine. In fact, the number of those siding with Russia in this war has nearly halved compared to the number who consider Ukraine is the victim.
The parliamentary elections held in Estonia showed that in an extremely unstable geopolitical situation in Europe, with the war in Ukraine going on for more than a year, the population is aware of the risks and is ready to rally around those political forces that rely on the European Union and NATO. At the same time, there were also some unpleasant discoveries for Estonian society.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban finds himself in a complicated situation. Politically, he gets increasingly isolated from its Western partners. Hungary's economy is in crisis, and the European funds that could relaunch it have been blocked due to anti-democratic slippages. With all the friendship that Budapest has shown to Russia, there isn’t much Russia can do to help, being itself increasingly affected by Western sanctions. Orban's solution appears to be to block Finland and Sweden's entry into NATO until the EU unlocks funds for Hungary. However, this blackmail policy may have reached its limits.
Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Baltic countries have been skeptical about Russia’s true aims. It was a view that proved to be more realistic than those held by many in the West, who thought that Russia can be a genuine partner of the Western liberal democracies and part of a stable international system.
The linguistic and identity issue has persisted throughout the Republic of Moldova’s 30 years of independence. The most important claim during the national liberation movement of 1988-91 – the recognition of the Romanian language as the official language and the fact that Moldovans are part of the Romanian people – was hijacked in the following years by politicians from the old communist nomenclature, who also succeeded to include in the Constitution the phrase “the Moldovan language” as the state language.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called on NATO member states to send troops to the territory of Ukraine, according to a false narrative of the Russian government media. In fact, the statement of the Ukrainian leader was taken out of context. Zelenskyy in fact referred to the activation of Article 5 in the NATO treaty should the Alliance be attacked by Russia.
The thesis about the two distinct peoples - Moldovan and Romanian – has been brought back into discussion by the Russian media in the context in which the Chisinau Parliament voted a law stipulating that the phrase “Moldovan language” shall be replaced in the legislation of the Republic of Moldova with “Romanian language”. Russian propaganda claims that the measure - taken following a decision by the Constitutional Court - is intended to prepare the union of the Republic of Moldova with Romania.
Russia is fighting a new “war for the defense of the fatherland”, but this time the enemy is not Nazi Germany but NATO, which wants to defeat Russia through Ukraine, according to a false narrative carried by the Russian state media. The truth is that NATO is not part of the conflict in Ukraine, and the confrontation with the West cannot be considered a war for the defense of the fatherland because Russia was not attacked by anyone, it was Russia who invaded an independent state.