Sergey Petrovich | Fighting fake news in Ukraine

In the context of the current conflict in Ukraine, I would like to refer to the articles posted across international media, and also published in Jamaica. On March 10, there was a news item in The Gleaner about a Russian airstrike on a maternity hospital in Mariupol that resulted in civilian casualties; this is one of the many other news that are designed to stir emotions and shut down one’s rational thinking.

On March 7, a few days before the above mentioned incident, the Russian delegation presented evidence at a session of the UN Security Council that the maternity hospital in question had long been seized by the Azov Battalion, the Ukrainian far-right regiment with Neo-Nazi ties. All expectant mothers, all nurses and other personnel had been moved out. The hospital was turned into a military base for the radicals, to launch attacks against Russian forces.

Multiple videos debunk the Ukrainian fake news, while serving as evidence of the crimes Kyiv committed against its own citizens in the territories of Donbass. They are all publicly available on the resources which fight these fakes, such as https://waronfakes.com.

A deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine is of particular concern. During the last week, every day, the Russian side has been organising the evacuation corridors for the civilians, but the Ukrainian nationalist battalions do not allow them to leave the cities. Ukrainian troops use their own population as a human shield, in particular by deploying heavy weapons in densely populated areas. There are video proofs to these facts that are concealed by the Western media. The Ukrainian side is also keeping hostage over 1,500 foreign citizens that are already protesting against using them in this campaign.

CHERNOBYL NUCLEAR PLANT

Another fake that has been widely circulated is the ‘news’ about Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants. In the Western media, it was widely reported, and argued, that Russia cut electrical supply to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In fact, it was the Ukrainian military which cut the energy supply, otherwise why would Russia re-establish the power grid from its territory? With regard to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the Ukrainian president is simply perverting the facts. Russian troops did not attack the nuclear plants; the fighting was far from the nuclear units. As a result, the training-administrative building caught fire. Missiles used by the Russian army, as Ukraine put it, were nothing more than harmless, illuminating rockets. And now there are many photos, even in the Western media, [showing] that the nuclear blocks are intact. And anyone can visit the IAEA web resources to check the radiation level on both power plants. Our country has suffered a lot from the Chernobyl disaster, and because of that we do not want it to repeat again.

Another fake news that is being circulated is that of the president of Ukraine speaking about what happened on Zmiinyi (Snake) Island in the Odessa region. On February 25, Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed that 13 Ukrainian soldiers heroically died on that island because it was heavily shelled by the Russian Navy. He even shared that each soldier would be awarded the title ‘Hero of Ukraine’ posthumously. This speech was posted in all major Western media, blaming Russia for this raging act. But several days later, on February 28, he acknowledged that all the Ukrainian soldiers (not 13, but 82) were in good health at the Russian territory and will return to their homes once all is over. But none of the media reported that story.

NOT USING CHEMICAL WEAPONS

Now, the campaign is unfolding to promote fake news that Russians will be using chemical weapons in Kharkov. We all remember how such fake news was used in Syria and Iraq. Now, the same people want to use this trick in Ukraine. There are video evidences of Ukrainian radicals bringing 80 tons of ammonia to the nearby city of Zolochev in western Ukraine, with the plans to stage the use of chemical weapons by the Russian Army.

I would like to point to another fact that is of a great concern. The evidence of the existence of biological research laboratories in Ukraine, the deadly viruses that were created and studied there with the help of the United States, which has been documented. Actually, the White House confirmed its involvement in the work of these facilities. Even the Chinese foreign ministry “called on the US to release all-around details on its biological laboratories in Ukraine, and urged relevant parties to ensure their safety”. This information is of great concern, as Russia revealed the documents on the experiments of many types of deadly pathogens in these facilities.

And now a few words about sanctions. The US and the EU have imposed the strongest-ever set of sanctions against Russia. These sanctions are illegal, as the only body that is entitled to impose sanctions against a country is the United Nations. But we all do remember that the US and other NATO countries did not care a lot about the UN since bombing Yugoslavia back in 1999 without a UNSC (United Nations Security Council) resolution. Nevertheless, these sanctions are causing negative economic impacts not only on Russia, but the rest of world, too. Sanctions are a double-edged sword. The US and its allies are shooting themselves in the foot. Oil and gas prices are already sky-high. And it is not Russia to be blamed for that. Our country has always been a reliable energy supplier, and has recently confirmed its readiness to even further fulfil all contractual obligations in full.

Finally, I cannot avoid the topic of the ‘isolation’ of Russia. That is just not true. Over the past two weeks, President of Russia Vladimir Putin has talked to the leaders of Germany, France, Finland, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel, Egypt and South Africa, just to name a few. Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov has had even more contacts with his foreign counterparts.

Russia remains open to dialogue and cooperation with all countries, by accommodating mutual interests and finding compromise solutions designed to keep the world from returning to confrontation.

Sergey Petrovich is the ambassador of the Russian Federation to Jamaica. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.