First of all, Matt -- that I lied is debatable, depending on whom you choose to believe. Secondly, I know who RT is, they're no more a "state-owned media chain than, the Washington Post, NY Times, The Guardian, The BBC et. al who do exactly what you accuse RT of doing. However, I just picked the RT link from the many I've tended to hoard ever since this SpecOp kicked off. Here are a few from other than the presstitute, western media referring to the Merkel, Hollande, Poroshenko machinations if you prefer:
- https://consortiumnews.com/2022/12/13/patrick-lawrence-germany-the-lies-of-empire/
- https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2022/12/22/ffci-d22.html
- https://www.globalresearch.ca/merkel-acknowledges-that-2014-minsk-accord-deception/5801808
Just so you know, I DO know there was a Minsk I & a Minsk I. It was Minsk II that that trio above broke, because they never intended to dialogue in good faith.
And no, he didn't declare shit. He witnessed Ukraine's mainly, Nazi Azov Battalion murdering culturally, Russian-speaking folk with impunity during the U.S.-involved, "Fuck the EU" Maidan Coup, who needed help, so he gave it.
And yes, he annexed Crimea, -- why wouldn't he, seeing as Sevastopol WAS a major, Soviet Black Sea port that served as an important military deterrent to the damned hegemony-seeking U.S. and its vassals? And you can say he rigged the referendum, all I know is the Crimean people, as well as those in the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Lugansk wanted to be independent from Ukraine so they could remain a part of Russia -- as was their right! Given the shitload of Western propaganda on the whole "they were forced thing," I can see why you'd be hard-pressed to believe that BS.
With regard to those "the separatist states" of Donetsk & Lugansk by the way, if those Nazi Azov henchman from the Maidan coup were killing you merely because you retained your Russian language, history and culture, surely you'd want to separate from their asses too!
If you're interested in different points of view on this, maybe check out the writings of Faina Savenkova, a young child of the Donbas and Deborah Armstrong, a former Emmy Award-winning journalist in local TV news in the U. S. who lived in the Soviet Union during its final days, working as a consultant at Leningrad TV in the early 1990’s. They both write here on Medium.
Oh! And thanks for the compliment(?), I really am capable of rising above petty propaganda and seeing the reality of things for myself. I just don't see it the way you do and that's okay -- without the vitriol, of course!😊😊😊