The Claim:
A post on a Moscow-based blog falsely claims that Canada is at war with Russia and that Canada is losing this “war.” It also alleges that a senior Canadian Armed Forces officer is being court-martialled for making statements that “offended the top decision-makers in Ottawa.” According to the post, “criticizing the mission meant criticizing [Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia] Freeland and the UCC [Ukrainian Canadian Congress]. Criticizing how the mission was being conducted also meant criticizing the Americans and British. That’s what has drawn the charge of disloyalty.”
The Facts:
Canada is not at war with Russia. The Office of the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal issued a press release about a senior officer charged with “five counts of Conduct Prejudice to the Good Order and Discipline pursuant to section 129 of the National Defence Act.” The release stated that “on November 29th, 2023, Military Police, Detachment Geilenkirchen received a complaint of a senior CAF officer allegedly making derogatory and disloyal comments about Senior CAF and NATO members. The first offence allegedly occurred in December 2021, with four subsequent offences ranging from January 2023 to November 2023. These offences are alleged to have taken place in the United Kingdom and Romania.”
The statement does not mention Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister or the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
Narrative Context:
The Russian government has consistently tried to propagate the false claim that NATO and its allies are at war with Russia to erode public support for Ukraine and bolster support for Vladimir Putin. Neither NATO nor Canada is at war with Russia. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022.
By falsely linking the court-martial of a senior Canadian officer to criticism of Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, the blog aligns with Kremlin information warfare narratives. These narratives aim to provoke anger and hatred towards Canadians of Ukrainian heritage. The same blog previously introduced historically manipulative narratives into the global information environment about Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland’s family in 2017.
