I suppose they deserve their lack of credibility. But in this case they have a legitimate complaint.
That did not make it OK for NATO to wage a war of aggression against Serbia. Neither did it make it OK for NATO to steal Kosovo from Serbia.
And in doing so, NATO undermined their credibility to complain about Russia invading and stealing territory from other nations.
Russia's false claims about Ukrainian atrocities against the separatists in Donbas was simply a pretext for invading and taking over Ukraine, just as Rusia's false claims about Nazis running Ukraine or US bioweapons labs in Ukraine or NATO trying to take over Ukraine were. There are two kinds of facts in the world, verifiable facts and Russian facts. The entire world witnessed the Serbian atrocities against ethnic Albanians, but only Russian propagandists claim such atrocities were committed by Ukraine against ethnic Russians. Before the Russian invasion, the world's press was free to go anywhere in in Ukraine and report anything they saw, and while the conflict between the Ukrainian government and the separatists fomented by Russian, was reported, only Russian propagandists claimed to have witnessed Ukrainian atrocities against ethnic Russian separatists.
Putin, himself has told us that the purpose of the invasion is not the plethora of lies Russian propagandist are putting out but a desire to restore Russian dominance over eastern Europe. In 2005:
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the nation Monday that the collapse of the Soviet empire “was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century” and had fostered separatist movements inside Russia.
In his annual state of the nation address to parliament and the country’s top political leaders, Putin said the Soviet collapse also was a tragedy for Russians.
“First and foremost it is worth acknowledging that the demise of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,” Putin said. “As for the Russian people, it became a genuine tragedy. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens and countrymen found themselves beyond the fringes of Russian territory.
“The epidemic of collapse has spilled over to Russia itself,” he said, referring to separatist movements such as those in Chechnya.
Putin’s statements were some of his strongest language to date about the Soviet collapse and come a month before the nation celebrates the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, a conflict Russians call the “Great Patriotic War.”
In his annual state of the nation address on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the collapse of the Soviet empire “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.”
www.nbcnews.com
A few years later Putin invaded Georgia on the basis of false claims.
More recently:
Russian President
Vladimir Putin on Friday compared himself to the country’s first emperor, Peter the Great, in a speech marking the 350th anniversary of the figure’s birth.
Putin made the comments while visiting a multimedia exhibit about the 18th-century leader, who led a conquest of the Baltic region while at war with Sweden. Putin remarked that Peter the Great viewed the land as rightfully Russian, drawing a connection to the current war Russia is waging against Ukraine.
“He was returning it and strengthening it,” Putin said,
according to The New York Times. “Well, apparently, it has also fallen to us to return and to strengthen.”
Putin also noted that when Peter founded the city of St. Petersburg, “none of the countries of Europe recognized it as Russian.”
“It’s impossible — do you understand — impossible to build a fence around a country like Russia,” Putin added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday compared himself to the country’s first emperor, Peter the Great, in a speech marking the 350th anniversary of the figure’s birth. Putin made …
thehill.com
Putin is saying the Donbas is Russian land and no one can stop Russia from taking it, not that Russia is trying to stop alleged atrocities against Russian separatist.