0 $
2,500 $
5,000 $
1,000 $
NOVEMBER 2024

Ukraine Crisis: When Facts Don’t Matter And It’s All About The Narrative

Support SouthFront

Ukraine Crisis: When Facts Don’t Matter And It’s All About The Narrative

Illustrative Image

It pays for countries to play up the ‘Russian threat’, as we can see from the current conflict in Ukraine…

Written by Johanna Ross, journalist based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Unfortunately when it comes to the western narrative on Russia and its role shaping the geopolitics of our European continent throughout the 20th century up to the present day, it often seems that facts don’t matter. We hear little about the Red army’s tremendous part in defeating Nazism and, for example, liberating the Polish concentration camps decades ago. The Soviets more often than not are equated with fascists as the post-Soviet bloc, particularly Ukraine and the Baltic states, play up the Russian threat and bend historical facts in order to secure lucrative western funding and defence contracts.

Since the fall of the USSR, which was once referred to by President Putin as the greatest tragedy of the 20th century, the states on the periphery of the bloc, like lost children, have sought to redefine themselves as their adopted Mother Russia was suddenly no more. Some, like the Baltic states, have rejected Russia outright as they pursued a European identity. Other nations, which are much closer to Russia ethnically and culturally, as fellow Slavic peoples, have sought to maintain ties with Russia, as they had for centuries before. Two such countries are Belarus and, until recently, Ukraine.

The Ukraine crisis therefore, with the rejection of Russian culture and language which came with it, is of course an absolute tragedy for the peoples of Russia and Ukraine. For there could not be two more close nations in terms of identity. As Putin has also said before, the two are practically ‘one people’. Ancient Russia, or ‘Rus’ began in Kiev after all. The border therefore between the two countries has always been practically irrelevant. What is incredibly sad is that it seems many Ukrainians are not aware of the extent to which their anti-Russian sentiment has been a strategic goal of the West, and is part of a conflict entirely manufactured by the US and its partners.

The 2014 Maidan revolution was a project of western interference in Ukraine that began many years earlier, as the West began supporting Ukrainian integration into Europe. The US and Britain are no strangers to such meddling; they supported Ukrainian fascist Stepan Bandera as far back as the 1940s in a bid to destabilise the Soviet bloc. Their security services are experts in this kind of malevolent activity.  And they know just how to use the media in order to manipulate populations and persuade them of their political viewpoints.

It’s happening right now as British and American governments fund media across the post-Soviet space in order to spread anti-Russian sentiment. This is why when it comes to the last escalation in the Ukraine crisis, the stage is already set. History has been written before it is made as headlines across western media for weeks now have declared that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is ‘imminent’.

As usual in this situation, the facts seem completely irrelevant. Western governments and their liberal media have already played the role of judge, jury and executioner. Never mind the fact that Ukraine has been building up its military in the East, aided by Britain and the US, since March earlier this year. Never mind the fact that Kiev consistently violates the Minsk peace agreements with the use of drones against the rebels in the East. Russia is the aggressor, Russia is the invader, says the media. This means that if Russian forces do enter Ukrainian territory to protect ethnic Russians in the conflict, as they did in the South Ossetia conflict in 2008, Russia will still be portrayed as the bad guy, and Ukraine the victim.

What the US and Britain need to ask themselves is how far are they prepared to push the Russian bear? War with Russia would be all-out war; it could be nuclear war on a scale never seen before. Russia knows this, and is therefore keen to avoid any conflict. But western war hawks seem to be blindly heading towards disaster.

The proposals recently put forward by Russia to Nato seem like a last minute attempt by Russia to get the message across: stay out of our back yard or you’ll regret it. The fact they were made publicly available seems to be the Russian government trying to set the record straight before the narrative is twisted by the media. It shows Russia did try to keep the peace, that it did communicate clearly with the West in order to avoid an escalation of conflict. Yet the proposals, although highly sensible and reasonable, and completely honest about Russia’s position, were immediately branded as ‘tough demands’ by the media and all indications are that they will be rejected. The West will not stay out of Ukraine and the post-Soviet bloc. It will continue to meddle and stir up anti-Russian feeling.

So as we prepare to greet the New Year, and hope it will be one of peace and prosperity, the people of Donetsk and Lugank sit on tenterhooks as the threat of a full-on war, provoked by Zelensky, becomes real.  If Ukraine does engineer an escalation in the conflict, it can relax in the knowledge that it has the full support of the western political class and media who have already written down how this story will play out. As usual, evil Russia and its dictator President are to blame. And western military war hawks, as they sit down to Christmas dinner in their cosy abodes, will rejoice as they think not of the people in war-torn, devastated Eastern Ukraine, but of the financial rewards that can be made at their expense. The Russian threat pays; but will this be a gamble too far for the West?

You can follow the author on Twitter.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

Support SouthFront

SouthFront

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
15 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
TopGum

The west is bluffing as always. They already threaten economic measures and that means they will never go to war. Why should they? Ukraine is not NATO, is just bait to push more sanctions towards Russia and to have a pretext to bring back nukes to Europe. Should Ukraine try to invade Donbass, they will be crushed like before. Ukraine does not exist anymore. They lost Crimea. Their government is entirely controlled by the west and their people flee the country fist chance they have. I think the west is not happy to support Ukraine either and they want them to “work” for it. Hence the story about invasion and whatnot. EU knows the moment they put those sanctions in place they will see no energy exports from Russia. Higher energy costs worldwide will only increase inflation which is already big headache for most countries.

oracle

I don’t see how any sane Zio USSA leader, can think any city or military base in the global Jewish empire will be safe if they attempt to kill 2 million plus Russian citizens in the Donbas. If Russia wants peace just let the racists supremacist global Jewish slave empire dictatorship know Russia will destroy the capital of the Zio empire Israel first, in any such war, then there will be instant peace. Racist supremacist Jews only fight to their last slave Goyim

TopGum

No need to put out the big guns. Everyone has an agenda. The west always gets stuck somewhere. Russia just reacts to those stupid provocations as civilized as they can. All people want peace. But not all people live in countries that are governed by sane, rational and well educated politicians.

Lone Ranger

There will be war. The crumbling pedonazi americant empire won’t stand down, unfortunately. Time to take Kiev Comrades 🤗

Cromwell

I just hope the armed forces in Donbass are strong enough to take the war to the fascists if they attack,they need to take Mariupol and other towns,i think if they attack it will be between now and the Bejing Olympics when putin will be out of the Country.

TopGum

If they wanted a war, they had done this many years ago when the Soviet Union broke apart. Now it is even more unlikely that something like that will ever happen. They weren’t even able to occupy Crimea. That is how badly they are in “playing” war.

Ragheadthefiendlyterrorist

It is fairly obvious that the owners of the Ukranazi coup regime don’t give a damn about Ukrainians. Rather they’re eager to fight Russia to the last Ukrainian.

John Wooh

They(MI6;CIA) fired sniper shots at the police and at the civil crowd to spread more hate and violence on both sides. That is how much they care about Ukrainian people…

Jon

Let’s certainly acknowledge history; all of it.

The capital of Rus was Kiev. Peter admired German agricultural acumen and invited Germans into Ukraine. Stalin liquidated them, although they had become Ukrainian after a dozen generations.

In WWII Russia played by far the greatest part of the game in defeating Nazi aggression and in pushing the Germans out of what would become the Warsaw Pact nations, but to equate Russia to the “adoptive mother” of all the Eastern European countries that so quickly turned to the west after the fall of the USSR is like equating Beria to St. Nicholas.

Russia clearly has the biggest hand to play in a greater Europe, but it plays this hand best through trade and commerce, not through war and occupation.

The opportunity for prosperity for the Russian people has never been greater if Russia engages commercially with the rest of Europe: Eastern and Western Europe. Imagine the free and open movement of goods and services across the now armed borders of Russia. Imagine the Eastern European countries once subjugated to the Kremlin looking at their Slavic brothers to the east as partners in prosperity, not feared adversaries.

Putin gets to choose: curses or blessings; death or life. The greater glory lies in pursuing peace and prosperity for all Russians, via friendly commerce, not in pursuing a Soviet Union redux by armed conquest. Particularly when he knows the incalculable costs to his own people.

No more Stasi!

John Wooh

Russia suggested years ago, a free trade zone from Lissabon till Vladivostok, but the Anglos feared a strong Continental Europe and Russia.

Cromwell

Pursuing a Soviet Union redux by armed conquest,what the hell are you on? remind me who has invaded and destroyed several Countries over the past twenty years killing God knows how many people and creating chaos in Europe with refugees?

Valens

Delusional nonsense, most of it…. “The opportunity for prosperity for the Russian people has never been greater if Russia engages commercially with the rest of Europe”. That’ is EXACTLY why America is trying to prevent/stop this at any cost!

Russia didn’t start any of this, what USSR, what Stasi, what BBCNN retarded nonsense? Who organized bloody rebellion in Kiev, overthrew the legal government of Ukraine and replaced them with Maidanazi criminals and psychos? Who is arming junta in Kiev and support their crusade on people in Donetsk, sabotaging peace process at every opportunity? Who is constantly pushing east, crawling around Russian borders with ships, airplanes, missiles? Who encircled Russian borders, who is spreading hysterical russophobia? Who started war in Georgia? Who is trying to prevent NS2? Who is waging their dirty media, economic, psychologic and every possible war against Russia in every possible sphere from sport to vaccines for so many years now? Yankee dirty hybrid war against Russia never stopped, it only intensified after 2008. and again 2014. and again today. Whoever can’t see that has no eyes nor brain. How stupid you have to be to say Russia has to choose? To choose what – to surrender and be destroyed by the US without even offering any resistance? Russia endured so much bullying and humiliation so far, like no other country in modern history. USNATO already crossed so many red lines, Russia barely has any left There is nothing to choose: Russia will either fight, or cease to exist.

TopGum

With the invention of nuclear weapons as deterrence after WWII it should be clear to anyone that the idea of a third such war is likely insane and mostly suicidal. No one will dare to attack any of the nuclear powers. This is why everyone now uses proxies and sanctions and false flags to accuse others of some sort of wrongdoing. There will be no war. This is all talk and intimidation, nothing else. Putin himself said a few years ago after the regime change in Kiev, that anyone trying to use Ukraine as a military spearhead to provoke Russia in a war will be the first one to be destroyed, even if they think they save being 10’000 miles away. That was very clear and understood. The US isn’t even mentioning anything about a preemptive nuclear strike anymore, as they did for decades. They saw Russian weapons in Syria and during/after the events in Crimea/Donbass. That did shut them up for good. Look how they wet their panties when someone buys Russian S400 AD systems. Hell, they buy Russian rocket engines to for space deliveries. Wake up people :-)

Last edited 2 years ago by TopGum
deja vu

“WHEN FACTS DON’T MATTER AND IT’S ALL ABOUT THE NARRATIVE”

Nothing new. All their wars are based on lies. “Remember the Maine! To hell with Spain!” Gulf of Tonkin or Saddam WMD. Humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo or moderate opposition in Libya, Syria… Plus 100s other lies. And they keep lying about Ukraine for quite some time.

Emrisrex

When the Yukies start freezing and no western “freedom gas” appears things may change….

15
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x