WHAT KREMLIN PROPAGANDISTS SAY:
Throughout the Russia-Ukraine war, Kremlin propagandists have consistently promoted the disinformation narrative that ‘military aid prolongs the war.’ Pro-Kremlin sources suggest that victory for Russia is ‘inevitable’ and that the provision of Western military aid to Ukraine can only delay this outcome, thereby prolonging the conflict.
Here’s some evidence:
"More and more advanced American and NATO weapons are reaching the frontline. This leads to more casualties. This prolongs the conflict. But this will not cardinally change the situation on the ground in favor of the ‘golden billion’ Ukrainian soldiers are being killed for," the Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said in April 2023.[1]
In addition, the narrative suggests that allies are not donating weapons to Ukraine with the genuine intent of enabling Ukrainians to liberate their territory. Instead, Russia contends that the West is acting with an ulterior motive to prolong the conflict to further their own interests. Such conspiracies assert that the US has financial motivations for ensuring the longevity of the war, citing increases in the price of gas and artillery since the invasion.
These false assertions are supported by similar narratives, including the notion that ‘the conflict in Ukraine is a proxy war between the US and Russia.’ Such narratives aim to shift the blame for the conflict onto the West, rather than accepting Russia’s sole-responsibility for launching an unprovoked full-scale invasion in February 2022.
WHAT ARE THE FACTS:
Since the invasion began, Russia has been met with intense and effective resistance from the Ukrainian armed forces, causing Russia to lose an estimated 10,000 pieces of key military equipment such as tanks or drones.[2] Despite this, Putin continues to expend vast amounts of resources fueling his war of aggression, spending an estimated $82 billion during the first nine months of the conflict.[3] As Russia struggles to replenish its losses, Ukraine may have an opportunity to make significant advances, as long as Western partners can send the right assistance at the right time.[4]
Ukraine has used its military equipment incredibly effectively, reclaiming over 50% of the territory which Russia had originally captured by November 2022.[5]
Whilst specific industries may have experienced unanticipated profits due to the increased wholesale prices of goods since the war began, such as the oil and gas industry, the war in Ukraine has triggered a global economic shock. Global economic growth in 2022 slowed to just 3.1 percent.[6] The global economy experienced a period of volatility in the aftermath of Russia’s illegal invasion, which no country stands to benefit from.
Without the willpower of Ukrainians resisting Putin’s invasion and defending their country, Western capitals would likely be deploying even more forces to the eastern flank of NATO than they are already. Fortunately, Western efforts to build Ukrainian citizen resilience and resistance prior to Russia’s invasion ensured that many Ukrainians found innovative ways of opposing Russian troops, while enabling partisan and Ukrainian special operations units to ambush Russian forces.[7]
NATO agreed to provide Ukraine with the military equipment necessary to liberate its territory.[8] This aid was provided to “to sustain and further strengthen support for Ukraine, and step up cooperation with partners, given the global implications of President Putin’s unprovoked war on Ukraine.”[9]
As a sovereign nation Ukraine has a fundamental right to defend its territory and is fully entitled to receive military aid from its allies and partners in order to repel invading Russian forces.[10] By deflecting responsibility for Russia’s illegal invasion onto Western governments, propagandists seek to portray NATO and Western allies as being parties to the war. This ties this narrative to the false assertion that ‘the Ukraine war is a proxy war between Russian and the US.’[11]
However, NATO has not sent any troops to Ukraine and no other countries have directly entered into the conflict. Despite the best efforts of Russian disinformation agents to suggest otherwise, responsibility for the conflict cannot be placed anywhere else other than with Putin’s invading forces.
References:
[2] https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/19/europe/russia-weapons-production-report-intl-hnk-ml/index.html
Debunker is a series of disinformation-busting articles from Debunk.org which focus on dispelling the harmful lies and propaganda being pushed by pro-Kremlin sources. Check out the rest of the series at debunk.org/debunker.