The prevention of Ukraine’s military aggression against Russia is one of the main reasons for justifying the outbreak of a full-scale war against Ukraine for ordinary Russian citizens. As proof of such intentions, they talk about the alleged location of NATO bases and American biolaboratories on Ukrainian territory.
According to our research, the narrative “NATO is fighting Russia in Ukraine” is not only the dominant but an actively promoted concept – especially now, considering the defeats of the Russian army. So here we have another form of this narrative implementation – read the detailed analysis in the investigation.
What happened?
On the English-speaking segment of Twitter, a video is circulating, where the former president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, allegedly says:
“NATO had training bases in Ukraine until Russia destroyed them.”
The video is followed by the post: “So apparently Vladimir Putin was right after all…”
Fact-checking
How the information has been spread
The post about “Ukrainian NATO bases” was published on Twitter by the user Richard @ricwe123. We do not know much about him. Namely: he registered in April 2022, indicated that he lived in the USA, and chose a quote from the Gospel 4:24 – “No prophet is accepted in his hometown” as his slogan.
After analyzing Richard’s page, we found that he tried to systematically promote the same post about “Ukrainian NATO bases” over some time.
Here is the chronology:
01.15.2023 — the post reached 26,1 thousand users + 138 reposts;
01.28.2023 — the post reached 9,379 thousand users + 145 reposts;
02.09.2023 — the post reached 7,879 thousand users + 123 reposts;
02.13.2023 — the post reached 254,8 thousand users + 2330 reposts
It was the publication from Feb. 13 (where, unlike the previous posts, Vladimir Putin was mentioned) that began to spread actively in the English-language segment of Twitter, and later appeared in the Russian-language segment as well.
Here we add a screenshot with the comments that ordinary Russian users leave under the Russian-language post with a video. It demonstrates the effect the narrative “NATO is fighting on the territory of Ukraine” has and illustrates the mechanisms of Russian propaganda. The people emotionally discuss the “Ukrainian plans to attack Russia” and find more and more reasons to justify the Russian unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.
Relations with NATO
Before proceeding to the study of the video, let’s analyze whether it is even possible to locate NATO bases on the territory of Ukraine.
According to Article 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine:
“Foreign military bases are not allowed to be stationed on the territory of Ukraine.”
On July 4, 2022, Serhii Leshchenko, Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office, also commented on a similar propagandist fake:
“They [NATO bases – ed.] could not have been opened, as NATO bases are opened only on the territory of the member states of the Alliance, and Ukraine does not even have the status of a candidate for joining NATO.”
The official North Atlantic Alliance website states the following regarding cooperation between Ukraine and NATO:
“Ukraine is not a NATO member. Ukraine is a NATO partner country, which means that it has close cooperation with NATO, but it is not covered by the security guarantee introduced in the treaty on the Alliance foundation.”
Below is a screenshot from the NATO website, where the member countries are marked in blue:
Ukraine’s cooperation with NATO began back in the 90s, and since 2014, due to the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia, cooperation in several key areas has intensified.
However, we would like to emphasize that the existence of NATO bases in Ukraine is out of the question since Ukraine is not a member country.
As early as Jan. 25, 2022, that is, before the start of full-scale Russian aggression, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized:
“NATO will not deploy NATO combat troops in Ukraine.”
Moreover, on Feb. 14, 2022, that is, not long before the invasion, NATO countries withdrew their military instructors from Ukraine. The military instructors` withdrawal was announced by the USA, Great Britain, and Canada.
Today, Ukraine is working on becoming a member country in the future and is actively implementing NATO standards. So, as of Nov. 1, 2022, 221 standards and guiding documents of the Alliance have already been implemented.
Video analysis
The video used in the post is part of Petro Poroshenko’s interview with the German media outlet ZDF dated March 23, 2022.
To the host’s question whether the ex-president of Ukraine understands Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who again refused to close the sky over Ukraine, Poroshenko answered:
“I have disappointing news for some German politicians. Europe is already at war. Russian cruise missiles attacked the NATO training center, which is located 20 kilometers from the border…”
The key question is which training center are we talking about? After all, earlier we have explained why there cannot be NATO military bases in Ukraine.
Twenty kilometers from the Ukrainian border is the Yavoriv military base. Since 1995, “Shield of Peace” international military training jointly by Ukraine and NATO has been held on the territory of the military training facility as part of the “Partnership for Peace” program.
It was the very training ground on which Russians launched an attack on March 13, 2022, and which, most likely, Petro Poroshenko mentions in the video. After all, the interview takes place on March 23.
Thirty-five people died and 134 were injured as a result of airstrikes on the Yavoriv training ground. This event was condemned by the Embassy of the United States of America in Ukraine, reminding of its international significance.
So, the ex-president is most likely referring to the international training that took place at the Yavoriv military training ground together with NATO countries. However, this is not a military base of the Alliance on the territory of Ukraine.
During the interview, the former president also emphasizes that he is not calling on NATO to fight in Ukraine:
“We are not asking NATO soldiers to fight in Ukraine. We have the best soldiers, the best pilots, the best fighter pilots, and the best missile defense operators. Keep your status neutral. But don’t be afraid of Putin, because if you show fear of Putin, he will go further… The path to peace will be shorter if you help Ukraine with weapons. You are not only helping Ukraine, you are investing in your own security.”
Conclusions
No matter how actively Russian propaganda promotes the narrative about the deployment of NATO military bases in Ukraine, there is no confirmation of this. Everything, from the Ukrainian laws to the fact of Ukraine not being a NATO member, speaks of the impossibility of such a partnership today.
But it is worth noting that since the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion, both NATO and the member states of the Alliance have provided unprecedented military assistance to Ukraine.
It may be difficult to understand whether the information is trustworthy. That is why we created the Perevirka bot. Send any news in Ukrainian or English and within 24 hours you will find out whether you can trust the chosen publication.
by Yuliana Topolnyk
translated and edited by Tetiana Fram
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