Putin beordrar styrkor att gå in i Ukraina - INVASION NU (2022-02-24)

Russian authorities have cited a number of incidents in eastern Ukraine in order to justify military action. In his speech on Monday, Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian authorities "are not interested in a peaceful solution."

"On the contrary, they are trying to set up a blitzkrieg in Donbas," he said.

But the US has warned of Russia faking provocative acts - so-called "false flag" incidents which are staged to appear to come from one side in a conflict - in order to create a pretext for action.

https://www.bbc.com/news/60470089

US officials alleged Thursday that Russia has been preparing to “fabricate a pretext for an invasion” of Ukraine by creating “a very graphic propaganda video” that would depict a fake attack by Ukraine against Russia.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/03/politics/us-alleges-russian-false-flag-ukraine/index.html

Here are some of the unsupported claims the European Expert Association researchers found.

Unsubstantiated Claim 1: Ukraine is planning to attack some separatist-held territories using chemical weapons.
(...)
Unsubstantiated Claim 2: The Ukrainian Army is preparing to attack Donbas.
(...)

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/19/business/russia-has-been-laying-groundwork-online-for-a-false-flag-operation-misinformation-researchers-say.h tml

Observers have been on the lookout for a Russian “false flag” attack, a highly visible event that Russia could use as justification for taking military action. False flag attacks are attacks by a government on its own forces to create the appearance of hostile action by an opponent, allowing the government to broadcast images to the world of its opponent’s supposed actions.

The Kremlin and pro-government propagandists on television and social media have put out a variety of claims accusing Ukraine of carrying out bombings, blaming Ukraine for nonexistent attacks and warning of nefarious future Ukrainian and Western plots, including false flag operations. The claims include a car bombing and an alleged attempt by Ukrainian saboteurs to blow up a chemical storage facility, both in separatist eastern Ukraine. The messaging is meant to create an impression of a Ukrainian onslaught and impending humanitarian crisis.

If Russia attempted actual false flag attacks, they were one element of a larger campaign to build a narrative about Ukrainian “provocations” – unwarranted actions that require a defensive and retaliatory response. Putin invoked this logic in his memorable speech that delivered his justifications for an invasion.

https://theconversation.com/what-are-false-flag-attacks-and-did-russia-stage-any-to-claim-justification-for-invading-ukraine-177 879

For weeks Britain and the United States have been warning of Russian false flag attacks to create a justification for military action.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/02/21/five-russian-false-flags-comically-easy-debunk/