Ukraine
Sunday 29 March 2020
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![Igor Girkin AKA "Strelkov"]()
Igor Girkin AKA "Strelkov"
Russian Intelligence Operative, ex-commander of Russian-led forces in Donbas
“The militia did not bring down the Boeing, I know better than anyone. And there was nothing with which we could bring it down, at least before I left the territory of the DNR (Donetsk People’s Republic).”
Read more...Igor Girkin’s contradictory denials of rebel responsibility for the MH17 shootdown stop just short of fingering Russia. The July 17, 2014, missile strike killed all 298 aboard the Malaysia Airlines flight. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
“No, I like my work, but, to resort to some kind of power scheme that is unacceptable for the country or would destroy it, in order to preserve my authority - that’s what I’m afraid of, that’s what I don’t want to do.”
Read more...Putin has consistently denied he wants to change the Russian constitution to stay in power, but he’s leaving the door open for just that. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
“We are not going to fight against anyone. We are going to create conditions so that nobody wants to fight against us.”
Read more...In 2014, Putin initiated a military takeover of Crimea, Ukraine, and gave military support to a separatist insurgency in Donbas, where fighting continues. In 2015, he inserted Russia into the Syrian civil war. -
![Mike Hughes]()
Mike Hughes
Chauffeur, daredevil stuntman, and flat-earth believer
“I don’t want to take anyone else’s word for it. I don’t know if the Earth is flat or round … I just couldn’t dismiss it (flat Earth theory) after four to five months researching this.”
Read more...The flat-earth conspiracy got to “Mad Mike” Hughes – so much so that he built a rocket to see for himself. It ended with his demise. -
![Dmitry Peskov]()
Dmitry Peskov
Russian Presidential Spokesman
"This once again testifies to the fact that there are still a huge number of questions, and questions that most seriously cast doubt on such a biased position that has been repeatedly voiced (about the cause of the MH17 airliner crash) … This information once again testifies to the rightness of the Russian side.”
Read more...Newly leaked documents do not contradict anything presented by the Joint Investigative Team working on the MH17 case. If anything, they debunk several of Russia’s alternative explanations. -
![Olga Skabeyeva]()
Olga Skabeyeva
Rossiya-1 talk show host
“Shame on the Ukrainian government. Shame! They need to get their people. Need to give maximum effort.”
Read more...The notion that Ukraine failed to quickly rescue citizens from the coronavirus epicenter in China fails to fully explain what happened. Ukrainians were evacuated on Feb. 18. -
![First Transnistria]()
First Transnistria
TV channel of unrecognized Transnistrian Republic in Moldova
“Transnistrians will not be able to cross the Moldovan-Ukrainian border by car.”
Read more...Moldova temporarily banned cars with unrecognized license plates from Transnistria from entering Ukraine. But not all cars – those with special “neutral” plates aren’t affected. -
![Russian Foreign Ministry]()
Russian Foreign Ministry
We fact check six false or misleading claims by made by the Russian Foreign Ministry in its annual review of the Kremlin’s policy initiatives.
Read more...Each year, the Russian Foreign Ministry issues an annual review. Polygraph.info fact-checks six of the false or misleading claims made about cybersecurity, Syria, the United States, Latin America and the INF treaty. -
![Ali Abedzadeh]()
Ali Abedzadeh
Head of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization
“The version that the plane was shot down by a rocket cannot be true under any circumstances … it is impossible from the scientific point of view.”
Read more...Evidence suggests an Iranian air defense rocket may have taken down Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
"I'm constantly being asked this question: where do they get tanks and heavy artillery? Listen, in many hot spots around the world there are various kinds of conflicts and military campaigns, including with the use of tanks, artillery, and so on. Where does this come from? Apparently, from those structures and states who sympathize with them, but this is their equipment, not foreign. I'd like to draw attention to that."
Read more...Russia is the only country that has a land border with the separatists’ self-proclaimed “republics,” and numerous pieces of Russian military equipment and their crews have been identified in Donbas. There is no evidence that other countries have provided such weapons. -
![Russian Embassy in Canada Twitter Account]()
Russian Embassy in Canada Twitter Account
Official Russian Foreign Ministry social media account
While ‘brain dead’ @NATO annual #military budget exeeds [sic] $1 trillion, #Russia spends on defence 23 times less (only $46 bln). Neretheless, [sic] #fake Russian threat is used to justify even more waste of taxpayers’ $. Good for business strategy, dangerous for intl. peace & security”
Read more...It’s no surprise that NATO’s 29 countries collectively spend more on defense than Russia alone. -
![Dmitry Peskov]()
Dmitry Peskov
Russian Presidential Spokesman
"No, you know, this is a question that has nothing to do with the Kremlin, so I can't say anything here."
Read more...Volodymyr Tsemakh was put on a list of prisoners held by Ukraine who were exchanged for Russian prisoners on Sept. 7. Tsemakh is a Ukrainian citizen; he was interviewed on Russian state TV after the swap.
