After Crimea, the world learned a new word of Russian origin, dezinformatsiya – in English: disinformation.
The Kremlin forced to acknowledge the lie
The case of “the little green men” – usually referred to in Russian as “the polite people” – is also noteworthy as one of the cases where the Kremlin has had no choice but to acknowledge its engagement in a disinformation operation. The confirmation has been voiced at the highest political level, most famously by President Putin in a televised interview on the occasion of the first anniversary of Crimea’s annexation.
Editor’s NoteWatch also the reporting by Aljazeera, and the documentary video by Babylon’13 showing the “little green men” in Crimea in 2014:
EU’s reaction to pro-Kremlin disinformation
The international community reacted sharply to Russia’s actions in Crimea, and until this day, the EU continues to underline its non-recognition of Crimea as a part of Russia and to oppose the violation of international law and failure to respect the territorial integrity of another state.
Alongside other key cases of pro-Kremlin disinformation relating to the conflict in Ukraine, notably disinformation regarding the downing of Flight MH17 in July 2014, Russia’s invasion of Crimea also made all the 28 leaders of EU member states react by calling for action against “Russia’s ongoing disinformation campaigns,” as stated in the conclusions from the March 2015 European Council, around the first anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. These unanimous conclusions at the EU’s highest level of decision-making led to the establishment of the EU’s East Stratcom Task Force.
Read also:
- Kremlin disinformation and Ukraine: The language of propaganda
- Kremlin’s media formula: ‘Western-style entertainment TV minus democracy’
- Putin’s hybrid war objective is to capture effective control
- Ukraine’s Parliament asks BBC to stop using “civil war” for Russia’s aggression
- Kremlin trolls are engaged in massive anti-Ukrainian propaganda in Poland
- Ukraine NSDC: Russian “little green men” appeared in Moldova
- Stalin’s “Little Green Men”
- Ukraine and the Kremlin’s myth of the “polite” invader
- Seven things you should know about pro-Kremlin disinformation
