“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris

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Clayton Morris is a former American Fox News journalist. Together with his wife, Natali Morris, he has a YouTube channel, Redacted, in which they promote openly anti-Ukrainian narratives.

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

Clayton Morris is a host for Redacted YouTube Channel

In the example of one video, let’s analyze what is wrong with the information that Clayton Morris promotes.

In 20 minutes, he said a lot of absurd things about the war in Ukraine and NATO:

“The US is doing everything possible to disrupt the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia: Putin agrees to China’s 12-point peace plan, and in return, NATO increases the presence of its troops in Europe.”

“Let’s stop pretending that Ukraine has an army and that the strikes in Crimea are carried out by Ukraine. it’s all NATO and the USA. Ukraine no longer has an army. Ukraine wants F-16s (multirole fighter jets), but they don’t have an air force.”

“The new aid package from the US includes demining equipment. That is, to eliminate what Ukrainians do themselves. Russia does not come to Ukraine, mines and goes back…”.

“Ukraine committed genocide in Donbas, shelling it for 9 years.”

“There was no war in Kyiv. Ukraine pretended as if the war was in the center, but it was not. The sirens sounded there only when Biden, Angelina Jolie, and Sean Penn were there.”

“The USA is turning Ukraine into a proxy; they want to use this territory to contain Russia. The Pentagon manages 46 biological laboratories in Ukraine.”

Let’s analyze why these statements are false.

 

Ukraine and its allies do not support the Chinese peace plan

We asked Volodymyr Tsybulko, an expert in the analytical center “Politika”, to comment on this thesis.

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

Volodymyr Tsybulko, an expert of the “Politika” analytical center

“Even in the American press there are enough pro-Putin freaks, especially when they are leftists, but when they start pumping up the topic of the attitude to Xi Jinping’s peace initiatives, and emphasize that only Putin is ready to implement them — this requires a separate explanation. These initiatives were discussed for the first time before the session of the UN General Assembly dedicated to the anniversary of the attack of Putin’s horde on Ukraine. But already during the hearings at the General Assembly, there was a feeling that Xi Jinping had somewhat “licked” his set of 12 principles from the Minsk agreements, perhaps not even from those signed by Poroshenko, but also from the endless history, if not with Karabakh, then with Transnistria yam We recall the words of Russian Minister Lavrov, who boasted that Zelenskyy would be wrung out like a hook on the hook of the Minsk agreements. China has its own experience with North Korea, and it was not for nothing that some spokespeople for Bankova [the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, whose offices are located on Bankova Street — ed.]talked about the Korean scenario”.

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China

“But when it is said now that only Putin is ready to carry out Xi Jinping’s initiatives, there is some truth in that — these initiatives are more in Putin’s interests than Ukraine’s. But are they about ending the war? The answer to this most important question today is more than unambiguous. These initiatives are not about ending the war, but about its endless continuation. Therefore, when even some American media outlets pump up the topic of rejecting the Chinese leader’s initiatives as an obstacle to the end of the war, they are actually acting as devil’s advocates. After all, what did Putin do, just a few days after Xi Jinping’s visit? He actually spat on his back, violating the memorandum signed by himself on the refusal of nuclear blackmail. After all, Putin’s statement about the placement of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus is evidence of Putin’s complete inability to negotiate.”

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

Maksym Kyiak, the leading international expert on the ANTS network.

Maksym Kyiak, the leading international expert on the ANTS network, believes:

“Regarding China’s “peace plan”, which Ukraine apparently refuses to implement “due to pressure from the West and the USA”. This is where the classic strategy of Russian propaganda takes place — to change the cause and effect. In fact, the war was started by Russia, not Ukraine, and with all the plans for the peace of China or anyone else, it is necessary to turn to the aggressor country, not to Ukraine. The propagandists, in their beautiful appearance, but quite poor in terms of meaning, call for peace as soon as possible and immediately claim that the “USA and NATO” do not need peace. Here again, there is a change of concepts. Ukraine and the countries of the West are creating an image of aggressors, and not of those who are reacting to the Russian military invasion of a sovereign state. He said, “Ukraine will disappear if the West helps it.” The most important and the only condition for the rapid onset of real peace is only Russia’s withdrawal of its troops from Ukraine.”

 

“Ukraine mines its territories”

The Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine reported back in April last year [2022 — ed.] that the Russians are carrying out mines in all the occupied territories.

Foreign Policy journalists also note that the Russians are “seeding the territory of Ukraine with mines.”

Russian soldiers deliberately left booby traps, mines, and unexploded ammunition while retreating, not to protect themselves, but to “punish the population”. This is according to Mark Hiznay, associate director of the arms division at Human Rights Watch.

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

Mines will pose a threat to the inhabitants of Ukraine for many years to come. Up to a third of the territory was affected by mine terror

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, also says about deliberate mine terror:

“Terrorists are deliberately trying to leave behind as many deadly traps as possible. Buried landmines, streamers, mined buildings, cars, and infrastructure… I am sure: this will be among the charges against Russia for aggression – land mine terror. Which is even more cruel and vile than a missile, because there is no anti-mine system that could destroy at least part of the threat, as our air defense does.”

Since the beginning of the de-occupation of the Kyiv region, law enforcement officers have recorded more than 20 cases of detonation of citizens on mines. Also, as a result of the detonation of enemy ammunition, 25 pieces of equipment were damaged. This was announced by the head of the Kyiv region police Andrii Nebytov.

According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, about a third of the territory of Ukraine remains potentially dangerous due to mines and unexploded ordnance.

 

Ukraine shelled Donbas for 9 years

The Ukrainian Review has already written about this fake, which is usually spread by Russian propaganda. The material also explained why theses about “Russian-speaking Ukrainians who wanted to join Russia” are also manipulative and untrue.

 

There was no war in Kyiv: the sirens were turned on only for Biden

To refute the thesis that “there was no war in Kyiv”, it is enough to recall the words of Russian propagandists that they will “take Kyiv in 3 days”.

New York Times published documents that clearly show that Kyiv was the target of the Russian military. So how come there was no war?

The Russians tried to capture the capital of Ukraine.

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

Destroyed Ukrainian civil transport aircraft at the airport during the battle for Kyiv

The Russians began the ground operation in the Kyiv region with landings and attempts to capture the Antonov airfield in Gostomel. Almost immediately, videos of their helicopters appeared on social networks. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported about 20 Kamov Ka-52 and Mi-8 helicopters of the Russian Federation, and CNN showed the occupiers at the airfield.

“Unsuccessful attempts to attack Kyiv, in which enemy troops were systematically destroyed in all directions, lasted until March 19 [2022 — ed.], when units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation went on the defensive and began to dig in. Subsequently, as a result of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the remnants of Russian units left the territory of Kyiv Oblast by the beginning of April [2022 — ed.]», – reported the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Washington Post also made a report with a detailed description of the events of the first month of the war, when the battle for Kyiv took place.

As a result of shelling by the Russian occupiers, more than 70 residential buildings were damaged in the first month of the full-scale invasion.

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

Residential buildings damaged by the fire of Russian troops in Kyiv at the beginning of the war

This was reported by the press service of the Kyiv City State Administration.

During the occupation of the Bucha district of the Kyiv region, more than 9,000 war crimes were committed, as a result of which 1,700 civilians died. About 700 people were killed in Bucha.

This was announced by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin.

At least because of the losses, the human sacrifices that Ukraine suffered, the thesis that “there was no war in Ukraine” sounds cynical.

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

A burnt column of Russian equipment in Bucha, Clayton, was there no war here either?

According to estimates by the Airborne Alert Map (a volunteer initiative that created an interactive online airborne alert map that takes data from official Ukrainian government reports), 14,870 airstrike alarms were sounded in Ukraine from the start of the full-scale Russian invasion to the end of 2022. In particular, 638 air alarms sounded in Kyiv.

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

Number of air alerts in Ukraine in 2022

So, the siren was turned on not only during Biden’s visit.

 

“There is no army in Ukraine”

If not, the Ukrainian army has been defending and liberating the territory for more than a year, then who?

According to Oleksiy Reznikov, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, the defense of the state is provided by about 1 million people. In particular, 700,000 people were mobilized into the Armed Forces.

In 2023, Ukraine took 15th place out of 145 in the ranking of the world’s most powerful armies according to Global Fire Power (annually-updated, statistic-based website tracking defense-related information of 145 nations and exists as a wholly independent resource).

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

If Ukraine does not have an army, then who has been holding the “second army of the world” for more than a year and inflicting heavy losses on it?

“To comment on delusion is to descend to the level of those who spread it. It is difficult to contrast discussions at the level of conversations in the kitchen with professional counterarguments, and it does not always make sense. Nevertheless, regarding Clayton Morris’ thesis that “Ukraine no longer has an army”, I invite its author to the frontlines. I personally promise to put him in touch with the press officer of the military units, so that this expert can see with his own eyes how much there really is no army in Ukraine and who is actually “committing genocide in Donbas”. I am sure that this trip will be a bright and unforgettable experience for him and he will have a great opportunity to finally speed up the coming of peace”, – comments Maksym Maksym Kyiak, the leading international expert on the ANTS network.

“This is similar to Russian propaganda, which, in addition to the current nonsense about the events at the front, is constantly competing for the right to be more brutal than Goebbels: Crimea is shelled by the Anglo-Saxons, the Ukrainian army is completely defeated, Poles and Negroes are fighting [instead of UAF — ed.]. Even more ridiculous is the situation with a drone shot down in the sky over neutral waters. Two manned and armed planes shoot down the unmanned aerial vehicle. What is heroism here? The fact that these actions only prompted the partners to launch a more modern and perfect new drone. In their manuals, the number of destroyed Ukrainian [MLRS] “HIMARS” already exceeds three times the number delivered to Ukraine. And the Abrams [main battle]tanks appear as destroyed and in general in advance, because they have not yet been handed over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”, – believes Volodymyr Tsibulko, expert of the analytical center “Politika”.

 

“The Pentagon has biolaboratories in Ukraine”

The US State Department made a statement denying the existence of biolaboratories in Ukraine:

“The United States does not own or operate any chemical or biological laboratories in Ukraine, it fully complies with its obligations under the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons, and it does not develop or possess such weapons anywhere.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called the report about the presence of biolaboratories in Ukraine misinformation.

“There was no war in Kyiv”: a review of fakes by Clayton Morris, The Ukrainian Review

Biolaboratories in Ukraine are not under US control

The US created the Biothreat Reduction Program in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union to reduce the risk from biological weapons that were left behind in countries including Ukraine.

In 2005, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine concluded an agreement with the US Ministry of Defense, according to which the US helped in the development and modernization of Ukrainian laboratories, strengthening the capacity of Ukraine in the field of detection of outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens. However, the program clearly states that the laboratories are owned and controlled only by the Ukrainian government.

BBC journalists also analyzed this information and did not find evidence of the existence of biological laboratories, in particular, they could not investigate and confirm the authenticity of the documents referred to by Russia in these statements.

 

***

“It is difficult for me to call media freaks journalists who uttered sophisticated manipulative propaganda aimed at an English-speaking audience. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of consumers of such trash from RT in different countries of the world. It is interesting that the program did not use such terms as: “conflict in Ukraine”, “Ukrainian crisis” as it is done mainly for the domestic Russian audience. Instead, they use “this war”, the war of “Russia and Ukraine”. This is done in order to draw as many citizens of other countries as possible to their side, under the guise of objective, non-mainstream journalism, who do not have a vision of the Russian-Ukrainian war”, concludes Maksym Kiyak.

 

Clayton Morris’ video contained no facts or objective opinions, just outright misinformation similar to Russian propaganda.

 

Anna Ostymchuk