Ці та інші обов’язкові елементи є звичними на сьогодні складниками сучасної базової загальновійськової підготовки, яка пройшла кілька етапів трансформації та вдосконалень від початку широкомасштабного вторгнення….
Russian-Ukrainian war, started in 2014 is an example of hybrid warfare, where information is the same weapon as bullet on the battlefield. The correct use of terms plays a very important role in explaining for the global audience what is happening in Ukraine now – the Russian occupiers are committing genocide against the Ukrainian nation.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine prepared the glossary on Russian aggression against Ukraine. It could be useful for foreign media, think tanks and governments. For a long period of time, state aggressor, the Russian Federation and before Russian empire and Soviet Union promoted the narratives about Ukraine as a failed state, Ukrainian as artificial language and thesis about Russians and Ukrainians as the one nation. Therefore, we have to explain foreigners how to use terms correctly.
We bring to your attention the glossary «Correct terminology on Russian aggression against Ukraine»:
Correct Terminology on Russian Aggression Against Ukraine:
| INCORRECT / WRONG / RUSSIAN NARRATIVE | CORRECT | NOTES |
| The Ukraine, in the Ukraine | Ukraine / in Ukraine | According to the Constitution of Ukraine and the UN language. |
| Ukraine crisis / Ukraine conflict / War in Ukraine / Russian War in Ukraine | Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine / Russia’s war against Ukraine / Russia’s aggression against Ukraine | Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 became the expansion of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine that has been ongoing since February 2014. |
| Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine | Russia’s unprovoked full-scale military invasion of Ukraine started in 2022 (in continuation of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine that has been ongoing since February 2014). | |
| Russian liberation / Russian liberators | Russian occupation / Russian occupation army / Russian invaders | |
| Ukraine was part of Russia | Ukraine and Russia were parts of the Soviet Union | |
| Mostly Russian-speaking east of Ukraine is culturally/mentally closer to Russia | Speaking Russian does not mean being culturally / mentally closer to Russia. Russian-speaking Ukrainians represent a legacy of Russian colonialism and long-term policy of Russification | including as a result of policies of language substitution and population replacement that the Russian empire and the USSR have pursued for over three centuries. |
| Ukraine’s attacks on Crimea / Russian Crimea | Ukraine’s legitimate efforts to de-occupy Crimea, which is a part of Ukraine’s sovereign territory within the internationally recognized borders. | The Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, parts of Ukraine’s territory, have been temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation since 20 February 2014. |
| War in Ukraine is not a genocide. (If so, then every war is a genocide) | Russia’s war in Ukraine is genocidal by all indications. | Russia’s war is genocidal in conception and is genocidal in practice. One major sign that Russia is committing genocide is that systematic violence is perpetuated against not only male civilians, but against women, children, and the elderly. Russia has shown an “annihilating mindset” by attacking civilians who are evacuating and forcing people |
| into “filtration” camps. The forcible transfer of children to another group — by having them reeducated or adopted by Russians — violates the Genocide Convention. Among other violations of the Genocide Convention are the continued denigration of the history and identity of Ukrainian people as a justification for war and hatred, attacks on Ukrainian museums, churches, and libraries. Russia’s discourse about the war also allegedly violates a specific tenet of the Genocide Convention: making false allegations of genocide. Before the full-scaled aggression, Putin and the Kremlin have falsely accused Ukraine itself of committing genocide against ethnic Russians, declaring Ukrainians to be “Nazis,” and used that claim as a pretext to justify its invasion. | ||
| Russian officials in Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions | Representatives of the Russian occupation administration in the temporarily occupied parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine. | |
| Annexed regions of Ukraine | Temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine | |
| Annexation of regions of Ukraine | Temporary occupation and attempted annexation of territories of Ukraine | |
| Kyiv government | Government of Ukraine / Ukrainian government | |
| By supplying weapons to Ukraine, Western countries only prolong the conflict | Ukraine has the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense according to Article 51 of the UN Charter. Supplies of weapons to Ukraine, which defends itself against Russia’s war of aggression, are legal and do not require Russia’s consent. The sooner Ukraine receives required number of weapons and defeats Russia on the battlefield, the sooner Russia’s war of aggression ends and peace returns to Europe. | |
| Russia attacks legitimate military targets | Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine is infringement of the international law. Russia deliberately attacks not only military positions, but residential areas and critical civilian infrastructure such as power stations as well. | |
| Sanctions against Russia caused food and energy crises | Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine caused food and energy crises. Sanctions are necessary to undermine Russia’s ability to finance its war of aggression against Ukraine.Stronger sanctions will force Russia to end its war of aggression against Ukraine. |
Ukrainian food export was severely undermined by Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian sea ports, causing food shortage and high prices across the globe. The rise of energy prices was brought by actions of Russia, which cut supplies to Europe even before the sanctions took effect. |
| Russia conducts evacuations of civilians from the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions | Russia conducts forced transfers and deportations of civilians from the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions. | These are international crimes according to International Humanitarian Law. |
| Russia held referendums in Ukraine’s regions | Russia held sham (null and void, unlawful) “referendums” in the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine under the barrel of a gun. | |
| Russia invited foreign observers to its referendums in Ukraine | Russia’s occupation administrations invited puppet/marginal “foreign observers” loyal to the Kremlin during sham “referendums” | |
| Russia’s mobilization campaign in Crimea and former Ukrainian oblasts | Russia’s unlawful mobilization of Ukrainian citizens in the parts of sovereign territory of Ukraine, temporarily occupied by Russia. | Under the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, the occupying Power is prohibited to compel protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. |
| Russia’s passportization campaign in Crimea and former Ukrainian oblasts | Russia’s unlawful passportization of Ukrainian citizens in the parts of sovereign territory of Ukraine, temporarily occupied by Russia. | |
| Putin was provoked to hit back for the Crimea Bridge explosion | Putin unleashes missile terror on residential areas and critical civilian infrastructure of Ukraine before and after explosion on the Crimea Bridge. His only goal is to undermine our resolve to defend ourselves, destroy and subordinate Ukraine. | Russia had been constantly hitting Ukraine with missiles before and after the Crimea bridge explosions. Shifting the blame on the victim of aggression by suggesting that Putin “responds” or is being “provoked” is totally misleading. |
| Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb | Ukraine has never developed nuclear bombs after it gave up its nuclear arsenal in the 90s / Russia may use fake news about Ukraine’s | |
| Ukraine is conducting a joint military biological activities with the United States aimed at developing biological weapons at medical and biological facilities situated in Ukraine | dirty bomb to cover up its false flag nuclear incident. As it was confirmed by the IAEA Director General: “technical and scientific evaluation of the results we have so far did not show any sign of undeclared nuclear activities and materials”
Ukraine has never conducted any military and biological activities, including its own territory. Ukraine has never developed biological weapons and does not have any specialized facilities for this purpose. Such facilities had only existed on the territory of the former USSR within the borders of the Russian Federation which inherited the corresponding infrastructure and facilities. All medical and biological facilities of Ukraine are used for peaceful purposes only to strengthen its own biosecurity. Russia may spread fake narratives about so called “military and biological activities in Ukraine” to cover up its a false flag biological incident. |
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| Russians are out of politics / alienated from politics / cannot influence politics | Russians profess political indifference/apathy and thus maintain implicit consent with Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, Syria, Chechnya, African states etc. | |
| Ordinary Russians are not responsible for Russia’s crimes | Every Russian is responsible for Russia’s crimes in Ukraine as long as they support Putin’s regime and its actions. | The Russian Public Opinion Research Center published data that at least 68% of Russians support the actions of the Russian regime. The poll was conducted during January 2023. |
| Ukraine does not want peace | Ukraine, like no other, wants peace. President of Ukraine proposed Peace Formula of 10 points to reach a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, in line with the principles of the UN Charter, and | |
| based on the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, extending to its territorial waters. | ||
| There is a need of ceasefire and peace talks | Ceasefire without withdrawing of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine will only give possibility to Russia for rest and new attack.
Peace talks without withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine will lead to conservation of the temporarily occupation of Ukrainian territories by Russia and will be used by Russia for new attack later. Russia is an aggressor and Ukraine is a victim of aggression. That is why any proposals for the peace talks should be based on understanding that the only way to the comprehensive, just and lasting peace is full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and punishment of Russia for its crime of aggression. |
Ukraine invites all countries to participate in the Peace Formula proposed by President Zelenskyy, which corresponds to the UNGA resolution “UN Charter principles underlying a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine” of 23.02.2023, supported by 141 country.
Any peace initiative should be based on the above-mentioned Resolution. |
| Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) / Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) | Parts of Donetsk / Luhansk regions of Ukraine, temporarily occupied by Russia | |
| Refugees from Ukraine in Russia / displaced Ukrainians in Russia
Ukrainian citizens displaced / relocated by Russia within the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine |
Ukrainian citizens, victims of Russian forced deportation after temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories / Ukrainian citizens forcibly deported by Russia to its territory or to other temporarily occupied by Russia territories of Ukraine | IHL qualification It is prohibited to remove or to carry out individuals or mass forcible transfers persons from the occupied territories to the territory of occupying power or to that of any other country, regardless of the motive for such removal\transfer (Fourth Geneva Convention) |
| Ukrainian refugees abroad | displaced persons from Ukraine | Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 establishing the existence of a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine within the meaning of Article 5 of Directive 2001/55/EC, and having the effect of introducing temporary protection. |
