DISINFO: Euromaidan was a coup by special services of foreign states
SUMMARY
Sincere condolences are sent to the people of Ukraine in connection with the anniversary of the coup, in which the special services of foreign states (the US, the UK, Canada, and Poland) overthrew the legitimate authority.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring effort by pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets to present the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine in 2014 as a coup fomented by the Western countries. Similar cases include: The US has recognised Euromaidan as a coup controlled by US officials and The West organised the Maidan coup to make Ukraine an anti-Russian state.
In fact, the demonstrations that began in Kyiv in November 2013, called the "Maidan" or "Euromaidan", emerged organically as a result of the Ukrainian people's frustration with former President Yanukovych's last-minute U-turn on the highly anticipated EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which had been under negotiation for seven years. See the full debunk of this disinformation claim here.
On February 18-20 Ukraine commemorated the 6th anniversary of the Maidan’s bloodiest three days. On February 20 alone, 48 people were killed and 80 wounded on Instytutska street by snipers. In those three days, 78 protesters and 13 policemen lost their lives.
Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically-elected president and parliament. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by almost the whole world. The EU and the US work closely with Ukraine. Their relations are not oriented against Russia.