Fact Check - Russia Falsely

4/3/22, 13:41 Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war | Europe | News and current
current affairs from around the continent | DW | 03.03.…
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Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Moscow was acting to end the "systematic extermination of the Donbas population" that had
been supposedly ongoing since 2014. DW Fact Check explains why this is false.
The claim is this: "Russia did not start a war, it is ending it," wrote Maria Zakharova, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, in a recent
Facebook post.
In doing so, she framed the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine as part of the wider Donbas conflict, which has been raging for years.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had argued similarly at the outset of the Russian attack, when he falsely justified Russia's offensive as an act
of self-defense in line with Article 51 of the UN Charter. Zakharova also claimed that Ukraine planned the "systematic extermination of the
Donbas population."
It's a narrative that's also being spread by Russian state broadcaster RT.
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4/3/22, 13:41 Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war | Europe | News and current affairs from around the continent | DW | 03.03.…
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A screenshot taken of Maria Zakharova's Russian-language Facebook statement, with an auto-translated English version below
DW fact check: False
Both of Zakharova's statements are false. The current armed conflict began when Russian troops entered Ukraine on February 24, shortly
after Putin, during a televised speech, announced a "special military operation" in Ukraine. Russia started the fighting and triggered an
ongoing escalation when it crossed into Ukrainian territory.
The second claim made by the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson is also false: There is no evidence whatsoever that there was a
"systematic extermination" of people in the Donbas.
Russians started the armed conflict back in 2014
Ukraine and Russia disagree on who provoked the start of the conflict in 2014. It erupted after Ukraine's then-President Viktor Yanukovych
refused to sign an association agreement with the EU. Pro-Western demonstrations eventually forced Yanukovych to flee the country, after
which an interim government took over Ukraine.
It was then that soldiers in green uniforms but without insignia occupied Crimea. At the time, Russian officials said these troops were not
acting on orders from the Kremlin, though many Western observers doubted this claim. That same year, a referendum was held on the
occupied peninsula over whether it should join the Russian Federation. A majority of voters voted in favor, thus paving the way for Russian
annexation. The referendum, however, was widely dismissed as illegitimate. At the same time, Russia began supporting separatist movements
in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, which was met with military action by Kyiv government forces.
The point at which this conflict turned into all-out war is disputed among the parties involved and scholars.
The contested areas of Donetsk and Luhansk declared themselves a "people's republic" in 2014. Moscow recognized them as independent on
February 21, just days before this year's invasion. The conflict escalated into interstate war when Russian troops crossed the border of eastern
Ukraine on February 24, 2022, entering Ukrainian territory.
No evidence of planned genocide
In her Facebook statement, Maria Zakharova also said that at least at least 13,000 people had been killed in the war in eastern Ukraine since
2014. She also claimed that there was a "systematic extermination of the Donbas population." There is no evidence, however, that proves a
"systematic extermination" of the civilian population is occurring. An OSCE monitoring mission active in Ukraine since 2014 has found no
evidence of mass targeted killings of civilians in the Donbas region. So far, the Russian Foreign Ministry has not provided any proof to back up
its claim that the people of eastern Ukraine are subject to "systematic extermination."
Fact check: 5 fakes of the war in Ukraine
The UN has accused both sides of human rights violations such as torture and raping prisoners, especially during the early years of the
conflict. It also says the Minsk ceasefire agreement was repeatedly broken by both sides.
It is true that at least 13,000 people have been killed in the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. According to the latest report by the United
Nations, up to 13,200 people died in the conflict until early 2020. Of those, 3,350 were civilians and 5,650 insurgents, according to the UN. It
says that 4,100 of those killed were members of the Ukrainian military. Take a look at the beta version of dw.com. We're not
Conclusion: Maria Zakharova's claim that Ukraine started this war is false. The Russian Federation illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in
Go to northeast,
2014, sparking broad international condemnation. On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine from the north, the new dw.com
and from the
Crimean Peninsula in the south, initiating a full-scale interstate war between Russia and Ukraine.
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4/3/22, 13:41 Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war | Europe | News and current

current affairs from around the continent | DW | 03.03.…

Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war

Visit the new DW website

Go to the new dw.com

DW fact check: False

Russians started the armed conflict back in 2014

Visit the new DW website

Go to the new dw.com

Visit the new DW website

Go to the new dw.com

No evidence of planned genocide

Fact check: 5 fakes of the war in Ukraine

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