FAKE: NATO units are participating in the battles for Soledar

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The official state news agency of Cuba “Prensa Latina” published an article entitled “Ukrainian army about to leave the town of Soledar in Donetsk” on January 7, 2023. This article is written with reference to Russian sources and does not contain evidence.

Soledar is a Ukrainian city in the Donetsk region, where fierce fighting with Russia continues as of January 17, 2023. It is of strategic importance because it enables the victor to encircle the troops in Bakhmut.

 

“NATO mercenary units take part in the battle for Soledar”: deconstruction of this fake

Quote:On December 30, the head of the Lugansk People’s Militia Andrei Marochko reported that the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces sent detachments consisting of armed mercenaries in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) style to the towns of Artyomovsk and Soledar”.

Facts: Firstly, let’s pay attention to the source of this information. Head of the Lugansk People’s Militia Andrei Marochko — is a collaborator who holds a key position in an illegal fictitious government body, the so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic”.

FAKE: NATO units are participating in the battles for Soledar, The Ukrainian Review

Head of the Lugansk People’s Militia Andrei Marochko

In his Telegram channel, he actually published a post about NATO mercenaries who arrived in Soledar and Artemivsk on December 30. He refers to intelligence, but he does not provide information about who conducted it or any evidence.

“In contrast to our advancing order, the Ukrainian command additionally sent rapid reaction units consisting exclusively of foreigners to the Artemovsk (in 2016 was renamed to Bakhmut) and Soledar area. The mobile groups are well-equipped, move in Hummer vehicles, and are armed with NATO weapons. Each group has an interpreter, as the militants do not know Russian and communicate among themselves mostly in English.”

Secondly, mercenaries cannot fight in Ukraine at the legislative level. This is written in the Regulation on military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine by foreigners and stateless persons. It states that foreigners and stateless persons are admitted to the Armed Forces only by contract. Therefore, such a phenomenon as “mercenaries” does not exist in Ukraine.

FAKE: NATO units are participating in the battles for Soledar, The Ukrainian Review

Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov & Vlada Liberova. Source: https://twitter.com/ukraine_ua/status/1614261465078272001/photo/1

Thirdly, NATO’s denial of participation in the war in Ukraine. NATO representatives have repeatedly denied the presence or plans to deploy their troops on the territory of our country.

“So for instance, on the NASAMS, which is also an advanced defense system, the training has been conducted in Allied countries by NATO personnel, but NATO personnel have not conducted any work inside Ukraine. And again, this highlights that NATO is not a party to the conflict. We don’t have forces or troops on the ground, but NATO Allies support Ukraine’s right for self-defence”, — NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference in Brussels.

NATO helps Ukraine defend its own territories. Therefore, they regularly provide Ukraine with weapons, equipment and train its military abroad.

The alliance even refused to close the skies over Ukraine, arguing that the introduction of a no-fly zone would lead to a direct confrontation between NATO forces and russia. NATO emphasizes that its actions are aimed at defense, not provoking a conflict.

 

Why is Russia spreading this fake?

Because it is profitable for her to talk about the “terrible” NATO troops that she unexpectedly encountered on the territory of Ukraine. In this way, Russia can easily justify its failures on the battlefield, because losing the war to the alliance is not as shameful as it is for the Ukrainians, whom they portrayed as a weak army in their media at the beginning of the war. They justify themselves to their own population for the senseless deaths of Russians at the front.

FAKE: NATO units are participating in the battles for Soledar, The Ukrainian Review

Soledar, January 11, 2023. Photo: Konstantyn & Vlada Liberov. Source: https://war.ukraine.ua/war-news/fight-for-soledar/

By the way, the information about the victory of Russian troops in Soledar is also a fake, which is not supported by any evidence. Heavy fighting is still going on there, but the Ukrainian army has not left the city. This is constantly reminded by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the commander of the separate tactical air reconnaissance group “Birds of Madyar” Madyar, who is currently on the battlefield.