Crimea
Tuesday 20 August 2019
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![RIA Novosti]()
RIA Novosti
Russian state news agency
"On August 15, Norway offered help in the rescue operation. The offer was accepted by the Ministry of Defense."
Read more...Nineteen years after the Kursk submarine disaster, Russian state media present a misleading chronicle of the events -- omitting key facts deemed damaging to Vladimir Putin’s reputation. -
![Russian Foreign Ministry]()
Russian Foreign Ministry
"This step clearly shows official Riga's desire to clear its information space from independent and not controlled by the state media outlets."
Read more...The Russian Foreign Ministry claim that Baltnews.lv is “independent” and a non-state-controlled media outlet is false. The news portal is part of the Russian government-owned media conglomerate MIA Rossiya Segodnya. -
![Vladimir Zhirinovsky]()
Vladimir Zhirinovsky
Leader of Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
“Turchynov said that it is necessary to blow up the Crimean Bridge. Perhaps lunatics can be found who will try to do that. In that case, Ukraine will cease to exist as a territory that considers itself a state.”
Read more...The former secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksandr Turchynov, did not say it was necessary to blow up the Crimean Bridge; he said Ukraine’s new Neptune cruise missile is capable of demolishing it. -
![Twitter Account of Russian Embassy in U.K.]()
Twitter Account of Russian Embassy in U.K.
Official Russian Foreign Ministry social media account
"#Ukraine’s language law comes into force, prohibiting Russian from being spoken by doctors and teachers. Clear violation of human rights and #MinskAgreements."
Read more...Ukraine’s new language law does not prohibit doctors from using Russian or any other language with a patient. Doctors can be penalized only if they refuse to speak Ukrainian. -
![Russia's Black Sea Fleet]()
Russia's Black Sea Fleet
“The Ukrainian Navy’s claims that the Black Sea Fleet’s Smetlivy patrol vessel entered the closed area of the Sea Breeze 2019 exercise are untrue.”
Read more...Whether or not the Russian guided-missile destroyer Smetlivy sailed into a zone being used for multinational naval live-fire drills, the ship was present in the vicinity of the drills. Russia is demonstratively aggressive toward NATO’s presence in the Black Sea. -
![Mahathir Mohamad]()
Mahathir Mohamad
Prime Minister of Malaysia
“Even before they examine, they already said Russia. And now they said they have proof. It is very difficult for us to accept that.”
Read more...The evidence points to Russian culpability. Russia was blamed early because its forces had already shot down aircraft and the Ukrainian army was fighting an enemy that didn’t have air support. Russia produced multiple false narratives about the incident almost immediately after it happened. -
![Maria Zakharova]()
Maria Zakharova
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson
“The Ukrainian side not only refused to utilize the procedures for release (of the sailors) that already exist in Russian law, but, in principle, even to discuss this issue. Kyiv does not need these sailors; Kyiv needs the uproar surrounding the sailors.”
Read more...In reality, Moscow did not offer to free the Ukrainian sailors and vessels immediately, as ordered by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, but simply to allow Kyiv to participate in Russia’s criminal investigation into the sailors’ alleged violation of its maritime borders. -
![Dmitry Medvedev]()
Dmitry Medvedev
Russian Prime Minister
“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.”
Read more...Looking at all of Russia’s main trading partners, only one has seen the share of trade dramatically increase over the past decade. -
![Russian UK Embassy Twitter Account]()
Russian UK Embassy Twitter Account
Official Russian Foreign Ministry social media account
“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.”
Read more...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. -
![RIA Novosti]()
RIA Novosti
State news agency
“Russia has gained control over the Ukrainian economy, an expert said.”
Read more...The headline is misleading: the quoted expert actually said Russia will gain leverage over the Ukrainian economy in the area of oil, coal, and oil products, although even this is doubtful, as Ukraine has alternatives. Poland recently overtook Russia as Ukraine's largest single trading partner. -
![Sergei Lavrov]()
Sergei Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister
"I understand that some countries would like to forget as soon as possible about the role that they played in the years of prior to World War II. However, I deem those attempts to accuse us of militarizing public opinion as offensive."
Read more...Many countries distort or omit inconvenient facts from their pre-World War II history, but Russia has all but eliminated the most difficult discussions from its state education system. One man was even fined for posting factual information. -
![Vladimir Putin]()
Vladimir Putin
President of the Russian Federation
"We have no desire to create problems for the new Ukrainian government, but to tolerate a situation in which people living in the territory of these Donetsk and Luhansk republics are generally deprived of any civil rights, this is already crossing the line from the point of view of human rights."
Read more...The Donbas area in Putin’s statement is under Russian control, according to international authorities – following Russia’s covert push to create separate “republics” Also, a Russian passport is no guarantee of civil rights.
