Verdicts
Saturday 6 July 2019
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"We understand the hurt feelings of [Polish President Andrzej] Duda, but it is unclear who insulted him. In any case, it wasn’t Russia and its wasn’t the Russian soldiers, who liberated the great fighting Poles from the Nazis."
While visiting the U.S., Poland's president spoke of his country's tragic WWII history, spurring a Russian TV host to say that “offense” could not stem from Russia, which "liberated" the Poles from the Nazis.” Missing from those comments, however, was the Soviet Union’s occupation of eastern Poland. -
“The Chernobyl series … is packed with petty anti-Soviet filth, which poisons viewers’ brains, thus becoming a deliberate, well-thought-out distortion of Soviet reality.”
The Chernobyl miniseries has been widely praised for accuracy and realism, including by people involved in the actual nuclear catastrophe. HBO is a private company not subject to government editorial control, and any claim its producers have been engaged in a “Western propaganda” campaign are false -
"Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces made four bombing strikes against terrorists in Idlib, the Defense Ministry reported. The coordinates for the attack were indicated by Ankara. This happened after the allied terrorists of Jabhat al-Nusra fired at a Turkish army observation post, despite a cease-fire agreement."
Turkish forces say their outpost was attacked from Syrian regime-held territory. Rebels in Idlib deny responsibility for the attack, and also deny having agreed to a ceasefire. -
“Kosovo remains the main source of instability and potential conflict in the region. This territory is practically uncontrollable. It is not only a source of instability, but also a potentially dangerous, uncontrolled territory in the center of Europe.”
While Kosovo is building a democratic society based on the rule of law, corruption and crime are widespread its Serb minority-run north that is strongly supported by Belgrade and Moscow. -
"The US cruiser Chancellorsville suddenly changed its course and crossed the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer’s course some 50 meters away from the ship. In order to prevent a collision, the Admiral Vinogradov’s crew was forced to conduct an emergency maneuver."
As the U.S. vessel was recovering its helicopter, it was on a constant course and had right-of-way according to international regulations. -
“We live in a different world; the range of freedom of speech actually practiced in Russia is greater than anywhere else on the planet. That is because the fear is long gone, you can write and even sculpt anything.”
After the detention of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, Russian state TV host Dmitry Kiselyov attacked those expressing censorship fears, claiming Russia has freer speech than anywhere else. But from the persecution of journalists to a crackdown of free expression online, this claim is false. -
“Probably, the level of integration in the CIS format is not the same as in the Eurasian Union... But this is a common story. These are, as we say, variable-speed tracks of integration.”
Looking at all of Russia’s main trading partners, only one has seen the share of trade dramatically increase over the past decade. -
“The Normandy landings were not a game-changer for the outcome of WWII and the Great Patriotic War. The outcome was determined by the Red Army’s victories – mainly, in Stalingrad and Kursk. For three years, the UK and then the US dragged out opening the second front.”
Prior to the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that effort to liberate Nazi-occupied France was not a Second World War "game changer." While the large Soviet sacrifice in defeating Nazi Germany cannot be understated, historians agree that D-Day was pivotal. -
“The experts found that, according to Article 17 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine cannot be involved in any conflict within the country. They are intended only to repel external aggression.”
Russian media has seized on comments made by the lawyer for the former chief of the Ukrainian armed forces’ General Staff, who repeated an expert commission claim that constitutionally, the Ukrainian military can only be deployed at home to repel external aggression. That claim, however, is false. -
“The Turkish Stream gas pipeline project offers ample opportunities for joint efforts. Its extension through the territory of Bulgaria will strengthen your country’s energy security.”
TurkStream is a diversionary pipeline to carry Russian natural gas currently being transited to the Balkans via Ukraine. TurkStream will not provide natural gas volumes from an alternative source, thus will not enhance Bulgaria’s energy security. -
“Worse of all, the idea of organizing racial rallies to cause the U.S.A. to collapse is not an isolated case of an acute psychotic break-down of some mentally ill staffer. In the same letter, Prigozhin’s staffers are bragging about their participation in the wars in eastern Ukraine, in Syria. They are also building plans to ‘assist in training national security forces’ in such countries as Qatar, Sudan, CAR, Chad, Madagascar, as well as ‘implementation of joint projects with Congo, South Sudan, Ethiopia.’ And that, as we know, are not just plans but reality.”
The U.S. Justice Department indictment and the data on Russian advertisements on Facebook released to the U.S. Congress allege that Yevgeny Prigozhin and companies controlled by him have been conspiring to defraud the U.S., including by aggravating social divisions. -
“Communist past revived in Russian schools”? Another #fake from @thetimes. Law prohibits political activity in Russian public schools. The photo was made at event held by the opposition Communist party.”
While schools worldwide often promote patriotism, there are reports of Russia's "Young Army" promoting the president, of history altered in textbooks to support state policy, students forced to participate in pro-Putin rallies and disciplined for repeating opposition messages.