Disinfo: Kyiv junta will demolish Donbas to the applause of the West

Summary

The Kyiv junta planned to start an offensive in Donbas on the eve of the Independence Day on 24 August. In particular, the plan was to conduct a number of terror acts and provocation killings of own commanders in order to put the blame on rebels.

Disproof

No evidence given. Ukraine is not governed by a junta. Democratic, competitive and generally well-organised presidential and parliamentary elections were held in 2014 and local elections in 2015. The EU welcomed this progress. The OSCE, which observed all these elections on the ground, characterised the Presidential elections (report www.osce.org/odihr/elections/ukraine/119078?download=true), as showing the "clear resolve of the authorities to hold what was a genuine election largely in line with international commitments and with a respect for fundamental freedoms." According to the OSCE, the only areas where serious restrictions were reported were those controlled by separatists, who undertook "increasing attempts to derail the process." The OSCE characterised the 2014 parliamentary elections (report www.osce.org/odihr/elections/ukraine/126043), as "an amply contested election that offered voters real choice, and a general respect for fundamental freedoms". The Independence Day in Ukraine was not marked by large scale provocations.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 78
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 21/08/2017
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine
  • Keywords: Military, Propaganda, Junta, War in Ukraine
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Disinfo: There is no Ukrainian independence, no achievements in 26 years

Ukraine’s independence is an empty shell and the country has shot itself in the foot by choosing the pro-Western path. Ukraine’s economy without Russia is nothing, Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the European Union will cost the country its fertile black soil, forests and agriculture. The country is a vassal of the US, where American politicians call the shots and regularly come to Kyiv with new orders. And under the terms of IMF loans, “Ukraine is carrying out reforms that are similar to Dr. Mengele’s experiments”.

Disproof

The article uses several recurring pro-Kremlin narratives (Ukraine is not a state, it is a vassal of the US, it loses from the Association Agreement with the EU and is being robbed of its fertile black soil). An analysis conducted by Deutsche Welle (bit.ly/2eJPdLU), shows the deficiencies of the trading relationship with Russia for Ukraine; trade conflicts with Kyiv were common practice for the Kremlin well before the annexation of Crimea and the war in the Donbas. The EU is Ukraine's number one trading partner. Exports from Ukraine to the EU and Ukrainian imports from the EU both increased by about 25% in the first four months of 2017 compared to the same period the previous year. eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/eu-ukraine_relations_factsheet.pdf, www.stopfake.org/en/fake-there-is-no-ukrainian-independence-no-achievements-in-26-years/,

Disinfo: EU ensures military influence through its programs, and this is why NATO was founded in 1949

EU ensures military influence through its programs. This is the reason why NATO was founded in 1949.

Disproof

Nonsense. European Union was established in 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community. NATO was founded long before the EU as a separate organization with different mission and structure. Even today, both organisations only cooperate on issues of common interest, and membership is only partly overlapping. nato.int/cps/ic/natohq/declassified_139339.htm, europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/history_en,

Disinfo: There is a catastrophic increase of hepatitis A cases in the EU because of migrants

The immunologist doctor Vladislav Zhemchugov explains the increase of hepatitis A cases in the EU countries through the uncontrolled influx of migrants. The migrants who came from disadvantaged countries with a gastrointestinal disease, brought with them viruses, and as a result, the EU system of housing and communal services in Europe did not cope with it.

Disproof

No evidence given. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control doesn't mention migration as cause for the outbreaks of Hepatitis A.