DISINFO: A veteran of Ukrainian army drove a truck into protesters in Minneapolis
DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
  • Outlet: fr.news-front.info (archived)*
  • Date of publication: June 01, 2020
  • Outlet language(s): French
  • Reported in: Issue 199
  • Countries / regions discussed: US, Ukraine
Tags:
US racial justice protests Civil war Provocation Donald Trump Junta Viktor Yanukovych Terrorism Coup

DISINFO: A veteran of Ukrainian army drove a truck into protesters in Minneapolis

SUMMARY

Bogdan Vechirko, a veteran of the Ukrainian army drove a tanker truck with fuel into a crowd in Minneapolis where a motorway was blocked by demonstrators, there might be many victims. It is not excluded that the unsuccessful terrorist attack was made in order to worsen the situation. A similar provocation was used during the coup in Ukraine in 2014. On February 20, Kyivans sparked blood, which resulted in a 6-year war that is still going on.

RESPONSE

Disinformation. The truck driver who drove through the protesters in Minnesota, US, was identified as Bogdan Vechirko, an American of the Ukrainian descent. However he is not veteran of the Ukrainian army and in fact has never served in the Ukrainian armed forces. Bogdan Vechirko living in the US shares the the same name as a Ukrainian soldier Bogdan Vechirko, however they are not the same person. The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces has denied that Bogdan Vechirko who is currently in the US police custody has ever served in the Ukrainian military. The investigation by the Ukrainian media also reveals that they are two different persons. Later media reports in the US state that the Minnesota tuck incident was likely an accident. The Euromaidan in Ukraine in 2014 was not a coup attempt but a nationwide popular protest against the government's sudden announcement that it would not sign the EU Association Agreement. See the full debunk here.

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Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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