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[Version française](https://codimd.caa-ins.org/s/HJRSvv5ds) [Versión española](https://codimd.caa-ins.org/s/HJRWMfIRo) # Sourced FAQ Ukraine-Russia ## Russia attacked Ukraine because NATO broke its promise not to expand eastward? It is often mentioned that the Americans promised the Soviet Union that NATO would not advance an inch to the East. What Mikhail Gorbachev, who was the protagonist on the Soviet side, said about this is: > "The topic of “NATO expansion” was not discussed at all. I say this with full responsibility. [...] Another issue we brought up was discussed: making sure that NATO’s military structures would not advance and that additional armed forces from the alliance would not be deployed on the territory of the then-GDR after German reunification. Baker’s statement, mentioned in your question, was made in that context [...] It has been observed all these years. So don’t portray Gorbachev and the then-Soviet authorities as naïve people who were wrapped around the West’s finger. [...] Russia at first did not object." https://www.rbth.com/international/2014/10/16/mikhail_gorbachev_i_am_against_all_walls_40673.html Conclusion: the agreement referred to military facilities and not to the new member countries. So the Kremlin's excuse of a broken promise as the reason for the invasion does not hold since "Russia had no objection" as Gorbachev stated. In terms of international law, no treaty or charter co-signed by the West and the Soviet Union, then Russia, contains any commitment regarding the future of NATO. https://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%C3%89largissement_de_l%27OTAN#Situation_au_regard_du_droit_international Reunified Germany joined NATO with the agreement of the USSR (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89largissement_de_l%27OTAN#Appartenance_de_l'Germany_r%C3%A9unifi%C3%A9e_%C3%A0_NATO) When the USSR disappeared, NATO lost its vocation and reoriented its activity towards the resolution of the conflict in the Balkans, cyber security, terrorism ... In 1991, when Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia ask to join NATO, NATO initially tells them no. But the action of Russia in the Georgian civil war, the conflict in North Ossetia and especially the first war in Chechnya, worries them a lot and they insist. (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89largissement_de_l%27OTAN#Groupe_de_Visegr%C3%A1d) Moreover, Boris Yeltsin himself, as leader of Russia, will give the green light to Poland to join NATO. In the early 1990s, efforts are made on the American side to help Russia move towards democratization and a market economy. This is why [the doors of the World Bank and the IMF are open to it](https://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%C3%89largissement_de_l%27OTAN#Deuxi%C3%A8me_temps_:_les_adh%C3%A9sions_(1992-1994)). Unfortunately, the Russian economy collapses in 1998. The countries around Russia are worried about the situation and about a Russia that would move away from democratic principles (as it was proved later with the imprisonment of political opponents, the modification of the Russian constitution so that Putin can be re-elected without limit...). In 2002, Putin himself had no problem on the subject of Ukraine's membership in NATO: > "I am absolutely convinced that Ukraine will not shy away from the processes of expanding interaction with NATO and the Western allies as a whole. Ukraine has its own relations with NATO; there is the Ukraine-NATO Council. At the end of the day the decision is to be taken by NATO and Ukraine. It is a matter for those two partners." (Press release/answers to questions at the joint press conference with Kuchma, http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/21598, 05.17.02) > "On the topic of Ukraine’s accession to NATO, the Russian President said that it was entitled to make the decision independently. He does not see it as something that could cloud the relations between Russia and Ukraine." (Remarks paraphrased by the Kremlin press service after a joint press conference following a Russia-NATO summit, http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/43122, 05.28.02) That said, one may wonder whether the accession of the Eastern European countries has helped to put pressure on Russia. It is probable, but what danger would the largest country in the world with a powerful army and the largest nuclear arsenal in the world be in? Nobody was going to attack Russia. The real reason is the gradual loss of its sphere of influence. More and more countries have moved away from the Russian model to the European and Western model, and have sought protection from an increasingly autocratic and aggressive Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed Sweden and Finland to join NATO. This is a very predictable reaction that did not stop Putin from launching his war. And this is the proof that the military threat of NATO is mostly a pretext. The threat to Russia is cultural. All this does not clear the Americans (and their influence on NATO). We know very well that their foreign policy is often based on unacceptable hegemonic and violent methods. Is this a reason to be complacent with the Russian invasion? No. ## Are the annexation referendums of the territories of Ukraine legitimate? 1. The territorial boundaries of Ukraine were recognized in a document signed by Mr. Putin in 2003 at the UN: * http://www.en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/30820 * https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/No%20Volume/54132/Part/I-54132-08000002803fe18a.pdf Mr. Putin recognized it on television in 2008: https://twitter.com/AlasdairMcc1/status/1586278501769953280 Therefore, to begin with, a referendum organized on a territory occupied by Russian military forces is an aberration. 2. Between the announcement of the "referendum" and the vote, 3 days passed, in violation of the Russian rules (the Russian law stipulates that the vote of a referendum must take place at the earliest 60 days after its announcement), and [in violation of the international rules](http://dppa.un.org/en/usg-dicarlo-so-called-referenda-held-russian-federation-occupied-ukrainian-territory-cannot-be-0). 3. When there is a referendum, there is normally time for public debate. There was no debate, no campaign for or against, nothing. 4. People had to vote in front of armed military: * https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1573333979490824192 * https://twitter.com/temafey/status/1573290002020470784 5. Other irregularities were found, like making people vote several times, and/or preparing pre-filled ballots, ... [like in a Russian election](twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1569221977042206722). 6. Being organized by almost the same people, it is highly likely that the results will be manipulated like in 2014 in Donetsk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzZbcnjI4lE&t=911s 7. The result that gives the victory to 90%, does not mention that only residual part of the population participated in the vote: ![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FeINoWpWQAA-opH?format=jpg&name=900x900 =50%x50%) Source: twitter.com/handinono/status/1576837808781946880 This totally invalidates the result (this was predictable since because of the Russian invasion, hundreds of thousands of people fled). 8. Even if the "referendums" were legitimate, they would not have been valid because two questions were included in the same vote: the wish to be independent AND the wish to join Russia. Those who just wanted to be independent would not have had the opportunity to express it. ## And the genocide in the Donbass perpetrated by the Ukrainians? 1. Pavel Gubarev, former pro-Russian "people's governor" of Donetsk (elected by a show of hands in the street), says that the 2014 Russian incursion of Igor Girkin/Strelkov into Ukraine, not the locals, played the main role in the outbreak of the Donbass war: https://twitter.com/AlasdairMcc1/status/1586275331404894215 2. Even Girkin/Strelkov says so himself: https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2014/11/21/russias-igor-strelkov-i-am-responsible-for-war-in-eastern-ukraine-a41598 3. This led to the creation of armed militias that attacked the administrations in Eastern Ukraine in a violent manner. The pro-Russian forces complained about the violent overthrow of power in Kiev, and then they adopted the same modus operandi afterwards: https://twitter.com/Igor_from_Kyiv_/status/1568902366262398976 4. The organization of the 2014 referendum in Donetsk was manipulated, from the mouth of its organizers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzZbcnjI4lE&t=911s 5. Faced with this foreign interference (Russia sent a lot of weapons (https://youtu.be/rzZbcnjI4lE?t=1833) as well as military personnel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzZbcnjI4lE&t=3047s)), the Ukrainian army intervened to stop the secession process. Russia had acted in exactly the same way against Chechen independence fighters in 1999-2000. 6. There were unjust civilian victims and war crimes on both sides, that is certain, but when people talk about 8 years of genocide, it is not true. The number of casualties counted by the UN (https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20as%20of%2031%20December%202021%20(rev%2027%20January%202022)%20corr%20EN_0.pdf#page=3) was significant in 2014 and then fell exponentially in the following years, from 2084 in 2014 to 112 in 2016 and then to 25 in 2021. Pro-Kremlin commentators speak of 14,000 civilian deaths. This is counting armed militias, which is not logical and manipulative. 6. By way of comparison, during the second Chechen war conducted by the Russians against Chechen independence fighters in 1999-2000, there were between 100,000 and 300,000 dead civilians (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seconde_guerre_de_Tch%C3%A9tch%C3%A9nie), i.e. almost 25% of the population and almost 100 times more victims than in Donbass. When pro-Kremlin commentators speak of genocide in Donbass where there were 3106 unarmed civilian victims (https://ukraine.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-02/Conflict-related%20civilian%20casualties%20as%20of%2031%20December%202021%20(rev%2027%20January%202022)%20corr%20EN_0.pdf#page=3), what are we to think of the hundreds of thousands of deaths in Chechnya under Russian assault? 7. When Zelensky came to power, he managed to calm the situation for a year, until on February 18, 2020, separatist and Russian forces raided Ukrainian positions: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerre_du_Donbass#2019 8. Russian disinformation on the conflict in the Donbass is quite prolific: http://www.russialies.com/russias-top-20-lies-about-ukraine/ ## Is Ukraine a country of Nazis? There are Nazis in Ukraine (in residual quantity), as everywhere and as in Russia. The story that Ukraine is a country of Nazis is very effective with the Russian public (because of the trauma caused by the Second World War) and serves to create support for the "special operation". Except that: 1. Ukraine is the least anti-Semitic country in Eastern Europe: ![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FeXZo48X0AEz8Sa?format=jpg&name=small) Source: https://twitter.com/JasonPates/status/1577906781518548993 Note that in Russia, people who do not accept Jews are 3 times more numerous than in Ukraine. 2. On September 29 the Ukrainian armed forces [commemorated the victims of Nazism](https://twitter.com/GeneralStaffUA/status/1575479797995560962). 3. Zelenski was named by the Jerusalem Post "[the most influential Jew of the year](https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1574019367888625665)". 4. On 12/23/2022 the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Reuven Azman posed with Ukrainian army chief Valery Zaluzhny, to demonstrate that the narrative about Nazi Ukraine is false. ![](https://i.imgur.com/ysXddcx.png =50%x50%) Source : https://twitter.com/myroslavapetsa/status/1606299821102481417 Russia, an exemplary country without Nazis and without relations with Nazis? Let's see ... 1. Dmitri Outkin, the founder of the Wagner group (Russian mercenaries admired and mobilized by the Kremlin) is an [admirer of the Third Reich](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupe_Wagner). He was [decorated by Putin himself in 2016](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dmitri_Outkine). 2. The ties between Russia (Soviet Union at the time) and Nazi Germany were strong before Hitler decided to turn against his ally. In May and June 1940, the Soviet Union supplied Nazi Germany with 163,000 tons of oil & 243,000 tons of Ukrainian wheat to help them in their "mission": https://twitter.com/HoansSolo/status/1576493625693057025 3. The commander of the Russian "Rusich" brigade, Aleksei Milchakov, openly declared "I am a Nazi, I am a Nazi": https://twitter.com/AlasdairMcc1/status/1561983490152771585 4. A Russian POW: "I, Vukolov Vadim Vadimovich, came to Ukraine to fight the Nazis". His tattoos: 1) Stylized swastika; 2,3) Iron cross with Nazi swastika; 4) Stylized swastika "kolovrat"; 5,6) Classic Nazi swastika; 7) Odal-rune (forbidden in Germany); 8) The Nazi slogan "Blood and soil". ![](https://i.imgur.com/dtZix3B.png =30%x30%) ![](https://i.imgur.com/no7rNa6.png =30%x30%) Source : https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1616064581914316801 5. In 2011, thousands of nationalists making the Nazi salute marched through the streets of Moscow to protest against Muslim migrants. Source : https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2057649/Nazi-saluting-nationalists-Take-Russia-march-Moscow-Muslim-migrants.html 6. More information and evidence about the Nazi movement in Russia: https://twitter.com/Anna_Guderian/status/1583589211944673285 https://twitter.com/juanMmunozc/status/1642629868742377473 Russian disinformation about Nazis in Ukraine is continuous. 1. A pro-Russian newspaper in Kherson spread a photo to prove the presence of nazis in Ukraine, except that the photo is of a **nazi demonstration in Moscow** in 2012. ![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FeeyOVtXEA8Fb3P?format=jpg&name=4096x4096 =40%x40%) ![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FeeyYbwXgAUR3Io?format=jpg&name=4096x4096 =40%x40%) Source : https://twitter.com/marcbennetts1/status/1578426400091955201 2. A supposed photo of a Ukrainian neo-Nazi wedding has been circulating in pro-Kremlin circles, except that it is a manipulated image of a wedding in Novokuznetsk **in Russia** with the flag of the **Russian Empire** in the background. ![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fb6WNO0WIAI8M2S?format=jpg&name=large =50%x50%)![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fb6XXi_XEAAumrx?format=jpg&name=large =50%x50%)![](https://i.imgur.com/VSgZUT4.png =60%x60%) Source : https://twitter.com/Shayan86/status/1566857240484642827 ## What is the Russian mindset regarding Ukraine? 1. April 2008: Putin to then US President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Bucharest: >"You don't understand, **Ukraine is not even a state**. What is Ukraine? Part of its territory is in Eastern Europe, but most of it is a **gift from us**." Quoted in "[Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin](https://www.brookings.edu/book/mr-putin-new-and-expanded/)" by Fiona Hill and Clifford Gaddy, p. 360. 2. Demonstration in support of Putin in Moscow in 2015. The slogans chanted are: > "Only Russia! Only victory!" > "Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, together we are the sacred Rus!" > "Let's get back to the borders of the Soviet Union!" https://www.facebook.com/UkrUnderRadarNews/videos/738653454746144/ 3. 2016: on stage, Putin told a child that **the borders of Russia "have no limits "**: https://twitter.com/mjluxmoore/status/1575822408711143424 4. Gennadi Onishchenko, the Russia’s head of the sanitary service declared: >“Our goal is to return **Ukraine into the Russian state**” https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1631267481238028288 (March 2019) 5. Vladen Tatarsky, a blogger close to the Kremlin, invited to the annexation ceremony declares: >"We will conquer everyone, **we will kill everyone, we will loot whoever we want**, and everything will be as we wish." https://x.com/GoncharenkoUa/status/1575890822590889984 (September 2022) 6. Sergei Lavrov, head of Russian diplomacy, in his speech at the validation of the annexation of Ukrainian territories, says that other territories >"will be **added to the list"** The plan is not to limit the list to eastern Ukraine. https://twitter.com/WhereisRussia/status/1576971245786398721 (October 2022) 7. On the Russian state TV, the deputy Dmitry Sablin declares: >"We should not doubt that people [in Ukraine] support us. It is more than that, I am convinced that further into the territory of Ukraine, people will support us as well. The vast majority of the population of Ukraine will support us. We come with our just cause, and we free them from all this. We free them from constant fear and stress." https://twitter.com/JuliaDavis.../status/1576796427409559558 (from minute 4:38) (October 2022) 8. This same deputy says without hesitation that **Belarus is Russia**, even though there is a guest from Belarus (ally of the Kremlin in the war) present on the set, who **must rectify**: https://twitter.com/JuliaDavis.../status/1576796427409559558 (from minute 5:26) (October 2022) 9. Andrei Sidorov of Moscow State University told Russian TV: >"We must take what is ours, and **in principle all of Ukraine is ours**." https://twitter.com/francis_scarr/status/1578377422268940288 (October 2022) He also stated that >"Ukraine, as a nation, **should not exist**" https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1579279261592354817 (October 2022) 10. Zakhar Prilepin, a writer, realizes on Russian TV that Russians are not at all welcome by Ukrainians and says, referring to the annexed regions: >We must **disoccupy the territories we need**". That is to say, empty them of their population hostile to the Russians. https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1579292010288406530 (October 2022) 11. Pavel Gubarev (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Goubarev), former governor of the "Donetsk People's Republic" (elected by a show of hands in the street in 2014) and pro-Russian figurehead, reports on their intentions towards Ukrainians: >"These people **are actually Russians possessed by the devil**. We are not coming to kill you, but to convince you. **But if you don't want to be convinced, we will kill you**. We will kill as many as it takes: 1 million, 5 million, **or exterminate you all**. Until you understand that you are possessed and must be cured [...] [the Ukrainians] they are damn **possessed Satanists**." https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1579820810751324160 (October 2022) 12. Statements by Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Russian-administered republic of Chechnya, and Putin's staunch supporter: >"**We will not capture these demons, we will burn them**" (referring to the Ukrainians). "We will not stop, this is our territory [...] **The regions and Ukraine in general are our territory**, Russian territory". https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1585087779729702912 (October 2022) 13. One of the leading presenters of Russian state television, Sergey Mardan, explains that Russia does not have to respect international rules and agreements, and that North Korea is a model to follow. https://twitter.com/olex_scherba/status/1621823453090258950 (February 2023) 14. In an intercepted call, a Russian soldier explains to his wife that: 1. he shot unarmed Ukrainians who had surrendered at close range. 2. it was filmed. 3. he will not be punished for it by his superiors. 4. he will do it again and kill all Ukrainians he can, even children. https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1636490588961796097 (March 2023) 15. The Russian journalist [Anton Krasovsky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Krasovsky), declares on Russian state TV: > "A strong Russian empire is a good thing [...] and I consider all the people who fight against Russian imperialism to be enemies of Russia." > "Naturally, I believe, like any normal Russian person, that no Ukraine exists and this is all the Russian empire." > "I even consider Warsaw a Russian city." https://twitter.com/adnashmyash/status/1721227353957797927 (November 2023) ## FAQ on peripheral issues ### Russia has liberated Europe from the Nazis Indeed, when the Nazis tried to invade the Soviet Union, the Soviets managed to defeat them and it was the beginning of the fall of the Nazis. But: 1. they were able to do so thanks to US materiel: > In total, the U.S. deliveries to the USSR through Lend-Lease amounted to $11 billion in materials: over 400,000 jeeps and trucks; 12,000 armored vehicles, 11,400 aircraft and 1.75 million tons of food. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease#U.S._deliveries_to_the_Soviet_Union 2. the Soviets bear a **direct responsibility** for the outbreak of World War II by signing the **German-Soviet Pact** with the Nazis in 1939. This pact consisted in not attacking each other and **repartitioning Poland and Eastern Europe**. Thanks to this pact, Hitler was able to invade Poland without fear of a Russian reaction. And since France and Great Britain had pledged to defend Poland, they had to go to war. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-soviet-pact ## More stuff https://www.facebook.com/UkrUnderRadarNews/ https://t.me/Ukr_under_radar_news