You may have thought CNN and MSNBC spewed outright lies and falsehoods, but with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they don’t hold a candle to state-controlled RT (Russia Today). On day five of the war, Monday, February 28, RT correspondent Murad Gazdiev made a host of outlandish claims ranging from Ukrainian soldiers surrendering en masse and the civilian defense forces were organizing into “neo-Nazi battalions,” in addition to the usual falsehoods about Russian forces not intentionally attacking civilian locations.
Gazdiev opened his fictitious account with an update in the fighting around the eastern city of Mariupol where he suggested the city was “almost surrounded.” There, he asserted that fighting units “belonging to the regular military” were “choosing to negotiate” and “lay down their arms and return to their homes.” And only “nationalist elements” were still opposing the Russian advance.
Sticking to the possible delusion of what would happen when the Russians first invaded, he proceeded to talk about how the Russian troops were supposedly being welcomed with open arms:
We have seen, of course, soon over Ukraine, different reactions to this operation. There are certainly civilians who have been happy to see Russian forces, but there – but there have also been those who have been less than happy to see, again, Russian troops advancing through Ukraine.
“[L]ess than happy,” is one mighty understatement.
And while he noted that Ukrainian forces supposedly mined the roads leading to the coastal city of Berdyansk, he omitted the civilian population rising up in protest to oppose the occupation.
He also tried to suggest that Russian forces cared about the civilian populations and how they were supposedly teaming up with local police to stop crime and murders (click “expand”):
On the whole, with the authorities, with the – the administrations of various villages and towns, there has been contact. They have been somewhat responsible. They have tried to try to agree, try to negotiate with Russian forces about responsibilities, for example, about joint patrols, with police; being with police being kept up to speed and allowed to do their job to prevent looting, for example, to prevent crime, murders from taking place in the anarchy that is often left behind after military operations.
In reality, Russian troops were running over civilians with tanks and looting stores and gas stations for food and fuel. There’s also a security video of Russian troops stealing a safe from a business.
Gazdiev also ignored how the Ukrainian air force decimated Russian armor columns on Sunday with TB-2 drone strikes, along with their expert use of fighters in dogfights, as he bragged about Russia blowing up aircraft on the ground (click “expand”):
There is, of course, also -- also the fact that the Russian military has been keeping us up to date on its statistics, which is how many various military infrastructures, sites, objectives they have destroyed. Which is at this point over a thousand, as well as the majority, from what we understand that Ukraine's air force has been destroyed. Many before being able to take off; many jets many helicopters before being able to take off in strikes directed at airports and airfields and hangars and other objects belonging – assets belonging to the Ukrainian air force.
He also smeared the civilian defenders of Kyiv by claiming, without evidence, that the city was in “anarchy” because they armed them with weapons as the Russians advanced.
According to him, the situation in the city was made “much more” “desperate” because authorities “had handed out almost thirty thousand, thirty thousand assault rifles, 10 million rounds of ammunition, RPGs as well as grenades to the civilian population,” adding:
We heard at first that only a passport was required. Then there was footage of people just coming up to boxes and trucks picking up guns by the dozen and – and leaving. Which has resulted in, as we have seen on social media, again, unverified footage, anarchy in the -- in the capital of Ukraine.
Gazdiev parroted the lies of dictator Vladimir Putin that Ukraine’s defenders were “nationalist” and “neo-Nazi battalions.”
And near the end of his nonsense, Gazdiev said Russia was “making all efforts to avoid civilian casualties” and put a “ban on bombing or launching rockets and missiles” at civilian infrastructure and residential areas.
Meanwhile, we know they’ve been bombarding civilian locations in Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, and other cities and towns around the country.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
RT’s In Question
February 28, 2022
12:03:46 p.m. EasternMANILA CHAN: And continuing our coverage on the front lines, here's RT's Murad Gazdiev reporting from the east of Ukraine.
MURAD GAZDIEV: The city of Mariupol, which is Ukraine's largest port, is now almost surrounded with the garrison that is there. The Russian side has said that it is nationalist elements that are putting up the stiffest resistance and that those units belonging to the regular military, to regular formations that they are choosing to negotiate. And in some cases lay down their arms and return to their homes.
But it is very difficult to verify this information at this time because events are developing so quickly and because there are so few reliable reports close to the front lines where it is extremely dangerous.
The situation there is that many roads have been mined. We have received reports from the city of Berdyetsk, which is halfway between the Crimea and Mariupol, which is the axis of Russian advance, which is -- which is where Ukrainian units have planted, in the city itself and in the outskirts, mines, for example, to --to surprise and to devastate advancing forces. It is very difficult to reach Mariupol or the vicinity of Mariupol at this point.
There have been, according to reports, more than a dozen civilian casualties here in the city of Donetsk. Victims of undirected fire into – into neighborhoods, civilian neighborhoods, places where there are apartment buildings and other houses.
We have seen, of course, soon over Ukraine, different reactions to this operation. There are certainly civilians who have been happy to see Russian forces, but there – but there have also been those who have been less than happy to see, again, Russian troops advancing through Ukraine.
On the whole, with the authorities, with the – the administrations of various villages and towns, there has been contact. They have been somewhat responsible. They have tried to try to agree, try to negotiate with Russian forces about responsibilities, for example, about joint patrols, with police; being with police being kept up to speed and allowed to do their job to prevent looting, for example, to prevent crime, murders from taking place in the anarchy that is often left behind after military operations.
There is, of course, also -- also the fact that the Russian military has been keeping us up to date on its statistics, which is how many various military infrastructures, sites, objectives they have destroyed. Which is at this point over a thousand, as well as the majority, from what we understand that Ukraine's air force has been destroyed. Many before being able to take off; many jets many helicopters before being able to take off in strikes directed at airports and airfields and hangars and other objects belonging – assets belonging to the Ukrainian air force.
The west bank of – the west bank of Kiev is also said to be under the control of the Russian military. Therefor the situation in Kiev is, of course, desperate. Made much more so after authorities there boasted that they had handed out almost thirty thousand, thirty thousand assault rifles, 10 million rounds of ammunition, RPGs as well as grenades to the civilian population.
We heard at first that only a passport was required. Then there was footage of people just coming up to boxes and trucks picking up guns by the dozen and – and leaving. Which has resulted in, as we have seen on social media, again, unverified footage, anarchy in the in the capital of Ukraine.
Nevertheless, the Russian side says it is making all efforts to avoid civilian casualties, which -- which includes a ban on bombing or launching rockets and missiles at – indiscriminately at cities. They're trying to keep hold strikes, precision strikes to military infrastructure sites.
And again, have reiterated that they are – they are offering Ukrainian forces, those that don't who don't belong to nationalist or neo-Nazi battalions. They're offering them the chance to surrender that they will be treated with respect and allowed to return to their families.
(…)
