{"ok":true,"trend":{"id":1019682,"platform":"mastodon","region":"global","key":"\"putin apologists want you to buy that: -an alleged off-the-books 1991 verbal promise outweighs a signed 1994 treaty -de","title":"\"Putin apologists want you to buy that: -An alleged off-the-books 1991 verbal promise outweighs a signed 1994 treaty -De","url":"https://mastodon.social/@mse_eu/117383997595592304","first_seen":"2026-10-04T19:15:49.014858Z","last_seen":"2026-10-04T21:59:45.267331Z","last_rank":8,"peak_rank":7,"last_volume":5,"peak_volume":5,"seen_count":3,"score":15.21,"category_hint":"eu_politics","section":"world","category":"eu_politics","summary":"Critics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine are pushing back on common Kremlin talking points, arguing that an alleged informal 1991 verbal assurance about NATO expansion cannot outweigh the signed 1994 Budapest-era agreements, that former Soviet-occupied countries joined NATO voluntarily out of fear of Russia, and that Ukrainians genuinely chose their own path. Supporters of these counterarguments say the war's stated justifications do not withstand scrutiny.","why":"The war in Ukraine keeps Russian propaganda narratives in active debate, and commentators are publicly rebutting them.","tone":"negative","entities":["Vladimir Putin","Russia","Ukraine","NATO"],"summarized_at":"2026-10-04T19:17:02.241097Z","meta":{"tag":"europe","via":"scan","kind":"status","lang":"en","instance":"mastodon.social","tag_uses":344},"nw":null,"promo":null,"kind":null,"importance":null,"hidden":false,"hide_reason":null,"judged_at":null,"title_en":"Critics reject Russian justifications for war in Ukraine","section_name":"World","category_name":"EU Politics","timeline":[{"captured_at":"2026-10-04T19:15:49.014858Z","rank":10,"volume":2},{"captured_at":"2026-10-04T20:37:44.842010Z","rank":7,"volume":5},{"captured_at":"2026-10-04T21:59:45.267331Z","rank":8,"volume":5}],"posts":[{"platform":"mastodon","url":"https://mastodon.social/@mse_eu/117383997595592304","author":"mse_eu","title":null,"snippet":"\"Putin apologists want you to buy that: -An alleged off-the-books 1991 verbal promise outweighs a signed 1994 treaty -Democratic countries formerly occupied by Russia asked to join an anti-Russia alliance for no reason -Ukrainians don't want freedom, an American tricked them…","posted_at":"2026-10-04T18:14:18.628000Z","likes":5}],"elsewhere":[],"window":"7d"}}