UK envoy calls our Russian “faleshoods”

Ambassador Holland dismantles Kremlin justifications for invasion of Ukraine

Britain’s ambassador to the OSCE has accused Russia of building its war in Ukraine on “a foundation of falsehoods”, dismantling the Kremlin’s repeated attempts to justify its invasion.

Speaking in Vienna, Neil Holland said Moscow’s claims of protecting Russian speakers, preventing NATO expansion, and “denazifying” Ukraine had no basis in fact, and were used only to mask a war of aggression. 

His remarks came three years after Russia’s unlawful annexation of four Ukrainian regions and amid continuing fighting that has become Europe’s bloodiest conflict since the Second World War.

False claims of protection

Holland said Russia’s narrative of safeguarding Russian-speaking populations was “unsubstantiated”. There was no evidence these communities faced threats, he argued, pointing instead to the suffering imposed under occupation.

“Far from protection, these areas have seen abductions, forced passporting, and the destruction of local communities,” he said. 

The idea that speaking Russian meant supporting Moscow’s war was, he added, “a flawed oversimplification of Ukraine’s diverse landscape.”

Demilitarisation and “denazification” dismissed

The ambassador rejected President Putin’s justification that Ukraine needed to be “demilitarised”. 

Ukraine posed no threat, he said, noting that Russia initially expected its so-called “special military operation” to succeed within days.

He also dismissed the claim of “denazification” as a distortion of history, pointing out that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish and that far-right parties won just 2.15% of the vote in the last parliamentary election.

NATO myth challenged

On Russia’s insistence that the invasion was to halt NATO’s expansion, Holland reminded the council that membership of the alliance is voluntary and defensive. “Experience shows states seek NATO precisely because of the aggressive behaviour Russia has displayed towards its neighbours,” he said.

Citing the Helsinki Final Act, he stressed that every nation has the sovereign right to choose its alliances.

Europe’s deadliest conflict since WWII

Holland underlined that Russia’s invasion has created the deadliest European conflict since 1945, with widespread atrocities documented in the recent Moscow Mechanism report, including mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

“While we rightly tackle the appalling conduct of Russia’s war, we must remember that this is an unjust war,” he said. “Moscow’s true objection is to Ukrainian sovereignty and the existence of an independent, democratic neighbour.”

Call for withdrawal

The ambassador concluded by recalling Ukraine’s overwhelming vote for independence in 1991 and its continuing resistance to Russian control. He urged Moscow to respect that choice:

“Russia must withdraw its forces unconditionally from all of Ukraine.”

The UK’s statement adds to mounting international pressure on the Kremlin, as the war enters its fourth year with no sign of a negotiated peace.