Disinfo: "Hunger riots" sweep across Ukraine

Summary

Ukraine is swept off by the so-called hunger riots.

Disproof

Recurrent narrative undermining Ukraine. The term "hunger riots" is used to describe the situation in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, where some shop owners protested in the street while respecting sanitary interpersonal distances, and gave interviews. They demand the opening of their shops to maintain a minimum turnover. The definition of a riot is "a violent public disorder"; a protest of peaceful citizens cannot be called a riot. The video shows that people take part in a peaceful static demonstration respecting sanitary distances. The ASS news agency showed a video from the same source with pictures of the protesters and didn't mention any violence.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 195
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 25/04/2020
  • Outlet language(s) French
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine
  • Keywords: coronavirus, economy, Protest, Ukrainian disintegration
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Disinfo: US laboratories in Ukraine are deadly

The US equips bio-laboratories in the territories of the post-Soviet countries precisely because they are afraid of the leakage of infectious substances and waste into its territory. Such laboratories are located not only in Ukraine, but also in Georgia and in other countries surrounding Russia.

Disproof

Recurrent Kremlin-led conspiracy theory not supported by any evidence. The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine denies all these claims. On the contrary, in Ukraine, the U.S. Department of Defence’s Biological Threat Reduction Programme works with the Ukrainian Government to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern in Ukrainian government facilities while allowing for peaceful research and vaccine development. "We also work with our Ukrainian partners to ensure Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats", the US Embassy stated. There are numerous similar disinformation cases about coronavirus claiming that it was created in a laboratory, or that it is an Anglo-Saxon biological warning: originates in US labs, is a US provocation against China, a tool to weaken the Chinese economy, an attempt by the Anglo-Saxons to control China.

Disinfo: In Ukraine, power is seized by Nazis

There is an opinion that in Ukraine an insignificant Nazi minority oppresses the overwhelmingly sane majority. This is not the case. This insignificant minority today became a Nazi majority and oppresses those who do not agree to turn into the same animals. They hate Russians living in Ukraine more and more. The process seems to be irreversible. They won.

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Nazi and Russophobic Ukraine. The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been the cornerstone of Russian disinformation about the country since the very beginning of the 2013-14 Euromaidan protests, when it was used to discredit the pro-European popular uprising in Kyiv and, subsequently, the broader pro-Western shift in Ukraine's foreign policy. Far-right groups enjoyed a very limited presence during the Euromaidan itself and had poor results in the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections. The "Right Sector" candidate received 0.7% of the vote in the May 2014 presidential elections, and the party received 1.8% of the vote in the October 2014 parliamentary elections. In the 2019 election cycle, far-right candidates fell short of the 5% minimum guaranteeing entry into parliament. Likewise, Ukraine is not a Russophobic country as often claimed by the Kremlin media. It had to react to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas. However, Ukraine has not forbidden contact between citizens of Ukraine and Russia, as well as sports, cultural, scientific or other exchanges. The borders with Russia are open. There are still direct bus and train connections with Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. Read similar cases alleging that after Maidan, Ukraine was ruled by the Nazis, Nazis are in power in Ukraine, Ukrainian authorities introduce Nazi laws to oppress Russian speakers, and Ukraine is a Neo-Nazi state.

Disinfo: Ukraine is a US client state

(…) as Ukraine is a US client state, the Western media, generally speaking, do not cover its affairs critically: Ukrainian elites “may be sons of bitches, but they are our sons of bitches”.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative undermining the statehood of Ukraine and US presence in Europe. See more examples of disinformation messages alleging that Ukraine is a colony of IMF and George Soros, Ukraine is run by pro-EU oligarchic Nazis, supported by the US, US embassy controls decisions taken in Ukraine.