Russian propaganda continues to spread, including in the UK. A recent article on this site included an interview with a Russian family who immigrated to Surrey. When the man is questioned about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he responds by repeating the narrative of Russian propaganda, which is that Russia is somehow liberating ethnic Russians in Donbas who “do not want to be a part of Ukraine anymore”, that Ukraine should have found “compromise” and let people “use [the] Russian language”. He also states that Donbas is now under Russian “protection”.
Russian propaganda lies about Ukraine’s actions in Donbas
The man also states that Ukraine has been bombing the people of Donbas. He then implies that Ukraine has mistreated ethnic Russians in the area by preventing them using “the language they want”. But Ukraine never oppressed the Russian-speaking population of Donbas in any way. In 2014, after a pro-Russian government in Ukraine was overthrown in a violent revolution, Russia invaded Ukraine and occupied Crimea and Donbas. In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights established that Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2014. Yet Russian propaganda has systematically falsely accused Ukraine of committing genocide in Donbas. Propagandists project their crimes onto their victims to shield against charges of genocide committed by Russia. There were civilian casualties during the war in Donbas, but it is Russia and the pro-Russian separatists whom they supported and armed who are responsible for them and for the consequent humanitarian catastrophe. That is because it was they who provoked the war.
While Ukraine’s human rights record requires improvement, Russia and pro-Russian separatists have been accused of several human rights violations in occupied territories, such as unlawful civilian harm, enforced disappearances or abductions, torture, restrictions on media freedom and freedom of expression, violations of privacy and non-existence of judicial independence. There is no rule of law, and these violations are a weapon with which the Kremlin exercises its control.
Previous compromises with Russia
Regarding the possible “compromise”, it is worth remembering that Ukraine and Russia did negotiate to solve the war in Donbas. And they did sign the Minsk agreements. And they failed. They were unclear and subject to dispute. The compromise was forced upon Ukraine because it wasn’t strong enough to resist Russian aggression, with its territorial integrity being violated. It was an infringement on Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence by Russia. It was a way of temporarily freezing the conflict which gave Russia the opportunity to prepare for a full-scale invasion.
Regarding “protection”, it is enough to look at how Russia razed to the ground the cities and villages in Donbas to refute this. Look what happened to Bakhmut, Sievierodonetsk, Mariinka, Avidiivka and Chasiv Yar.
The ‘Russification’ of Donbas
To explain the use of Russian language in Ukraine, we have to provide the historical background.
The attempts to eradicate the Ukrainian language by Russia can be traced back to the time of the Russian Empire, when Ukrainian speakers were abused, it was forbidden to teach, write, or speak publicly in Ukrainian and any publication in Ukrainian was confiscated. During the Soviet era, the Ukrainian language was banned and the conditions were created that the Russian language was considered to be more prestigious. The systematic Russification of the eastern territories of Ukraine had a deep impact.
Another practice that influenced the ‘Russification’ of Donbas was the resettlement of Russian citizens which became widespread in the 16th century. In parallel, Russia deported Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, with the eastern territories of Ukraine suffering the most in the 1920s and 30s.
Russia’s exploitation of Donbas’ resources
Exploiting the resources of Donbas has also been a method of control by Russia. At the start of the 20th century, Donbas was producing 87% of the coal and 74% of the pig iron in the Russian empire. During the Stalin era, millions of Ukrainian peasants were deported to Siberia or died from starvation. This is known as the Ukrainian Holodomor or ‘great famine’, which Ukraine and some other countries recognise as a genocide. Many workers from Russia moved to the industrial cities of Donbas at this time and this contributed to the Russification of the region.
Ukraine is not “collateral damage”
The man also contends that the Russia-Ukraine war is “a war between the West and Russia”, in which Ukraine is “collateral damage”.
But labelling the suffering of Ukrainians as “collateral damage” is wrong and disrespectful to the victims. There is strong evidence that Russia is targeting civilians in missile strikes, for example, the Bucha massacre, the Izuym mass graves, and the destruction of Mariupol. Russian soldiers are raping women and children. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova for the abduction of Ukrainian children. Russia has also carried out sham referendums and illegally annexed four regions of Ukraine.
The role of the West
The West never threatened Russia and never wanted to provoke this war. In fact, the West sought to appease Russia. This is seen in the failure to respond strongly and effectively to Russian occupation of part of Moldova, to horrible atrocities in Chechnya in the 1990s, in Georgia and in Syria.
When Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022, the US and Europe decided to act and support Ukraine with weapons, military equipment, financial and humanitarian aid, because the imperialist expansionist ambitions of Russia became evident. It is their security, particularly the security of Ukraine and Russia’s neighbours – Poland, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania and Latvia – which is threatened too. They want to protect themselves from future Russian invasions.
In this war, Russia is the aggressor, Ukraine fights for its existence and the West supports Ukraine.
The justification of sanctions
In another interview, a man is complaining about sanctions, saying he is unable to use funds, watch movies in Russian, access Russian news or buy Russian goods. He accuses the UK government of discrimination.
The blocking of access to Russian news in Europe is completely justified. The Russian news is a means of indoctrinating people with propaganda and disinformation. It uses lies to cover up the genocide of Ukraine.
The purpose of the sanctions is to stop one country from acting aggressively or breaking international law. The US Treasury claimed that Russia’s economic growth over the two years has suffered a loss of 5%. Sanctions have inflicted some pain on Russia’s economy. Oil and gas revenue declined in the months after the crude oil price cap was implemented. The objectives of the sanctions are to raise the cost of the war for Russia and to give Ukraine strategic leverage.
But this is not “discrimination” against Russian people. This is a response to Russian aggression against Ukraine. A way to suffocate Russia’s war machine to help Ukraine survive.
Helping Ukraine by countering Russian propaganda
People should not be misled by the narrative of Russian propaganda and by people who are repeating it. By repeating such disinformation, they become accomplices in the genocide of Ukrainians.
Editor’s Note: Russia’s actions in Ukraine are formally recognised as genocide by Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with partial formal recognition in Canada, Czechia, Ireland and Poland. The state’s actions have been referred to as genocide by world leaders, NGOs and academics, including the US President.
Since the Russian invasion, Kent and Surrey Bylines have published several articles on the history of Ukraine, including on the Holodomor and a review of a history book by Plokhy.
