The post is spreading disinformation that the Russian military actions on the territory of Ukraine, which took place on 24 February completely unprovoked, are over and that, allegedly, Russia was the winner. The military invasion and the Ukrainian defense, however, are still ongoing and nothing appears to signal that they will end soon. In addition, the post provides disinformation that the EU and NATO were defeated by Russia, which is also not true since they are not parties to the war, writes Truthmeter.mk
Under the content-sharing agreement between Truthmeter.mk and Meta.mk, we republish the text below:
We are fact-checking a post on the social network Facebook (screenshot here) claiming the following:
Russia has defeated Ukraine, the EU, and NATO. These lousy states were tired of the war. Well, take a break for a few years, before you get it again.
Contrary to the claim stated in the post, Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine is still ongoing, and there is no winner and no termination of military actions for Russia to qualify for a winner. In addition, it is not true that Russia defeated the EU and NATO since they are not parties to the war and do not participate in it.
NATO condemns Russia’s brutal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine – which is an independent, peaceful, and democratic country and close NATO partner. NATO and the Allies continue to provide Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, helping to uphold its fundamental right to self-defense.
In an article titled “Setting the record straight“, NATO states that it is not at war with Russia qualifying such a position as a myth.
NATO is not at war with Russia, and we do not seek confrontation with Russia. What NATO does is support Ukraine in its right to self-defense, as enshrined in the UN Charter. Over the past months, we have taken strictly defensive measures to increase the presence of NATO troops in the Eastern part of the Alliance. This ensures that there is no room for misunderstanding in Moscow about our readiness to protect and defend all Allies. Our core task is to keep our thirty nations safe. We have a responsibility to ensure the conflict does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine because that would be even more devastating and more dangerous, states the website of NATO.
That the war is not over and that there is no winner, was also confirmed by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who denied the statement of General Valery Zaluzhny about the war being in “stalemate” given in an interview for “Economist” on 1 November.
We are not ready to give our freedom to this terrorist, Putin. That’s it. That’s why we are fighting. That’s it, said Zelenskyy on 5 November.
Zelenskyy added that the situation was indeed difficult, but he did not believe it to be a stalemate.
They thought that they would check-mate us, but this did not happen, he said adding that the Ukrainian Army has different plans, but is aware that they are impossible without relevant and appropriate weapons.
The part of the fact-checked post referring to ”these lousy states were apparently tied of war”, most probably stems from the recently published telephone conversation (that took place in September) where the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was tricked by two Russian pranksters in a call, thinking she was speaking with officials with the African Union. Not knowing that she was speaking with pranksters, Meloni had stated:
I see that there is a lot of fatigue from all sides. We are near the moment in which everybody understands that we need a way out.
This, however, is not the official position of either the EU or NATO; and not even Ukraine. The counter-offensive has been ongoing for five months and Ukraine managed to advance 17 kilometres. For ten months Russia was fighting for Bakhmut in the East to conquer a 6-kilometre city long and wide. It is uncertain what will happen in the future, but at this specific time it is untrue to say that Russia defeated Ukraine in the war. On 11 October, NATO Allies decided to continue supporting Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pointed out at the time that NATO would provide more cold-weather clothing, fuel, and medical equipment to help Ukraine weather another difficult winter. Allies discussed Ukraine’s priorities on its path to NATO membership, including long-term interoperability with NATO and defense procurement including F-16 jets and training, as well as air defenses, ammunition, and equipment.
If the contents of the post fact-checked were true about Russia defeating Ukraine, then such assistance and support would not have been implemented nor required. Also, on 24 October the European Commission paid 1.5 billion Euros under the Macro-financial Assistance+ package for Ukraine worth up to 18 billion Euros. With this instrument, the EU seeks to help Ukraine cover its immediate funding needs with stable financial support in 2023. Ukraine has so far received 15 billion Euros this year.
In addition, on 26 October the US Department of Defense stated that the US Army continues to focus on the support for Ukraine.
As specified in the announcement, this key security assistance includes counter-air defense capacities, artillery, ammunition, anti-tank weapons, and other important assistance to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression and proceed its struggle for independence and freedom. In that respect, this security assistance package is yet another obvious sign of the US’ continuous dedication to the Ukrainian people dealing with Russian aggression.
Due to all of the above-noted facts, the post we are fact-checking is assessed as untrue. Russia has not defeated Ukraine, while the EU and NATO are not at war. Russia’s military invasion in Ukraine and the counter-offensive are ongoing without announcements and their termination will happen soon. Therefore, neither has the position of the EU and NATO to support Ukraine’s right to self-defense changed.
