Disinfo: "Maidan" was conceived by Washington for the sole purpose of deploying its military facilities in Crimea

Summary

There is a theory that “Maidan” was conceived in Washington for the sole purpose of deploying its military facilities directly at Russian borders, in particular in Crimea.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine's statehood which claims that protests in the country were organised by the US and the West.

The demonstrations which began in Kyiv in November 2013 – called "Maidan" or "Euromaidan" – were not provoked from outside but were a result of the Ukrainian people's frustration with former President Yanukovych's last-minute policy U-turn, when after seven years of negotiations, he refused to sign the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement. More cases on this topic here.

The claim that NATO or the US was planning to base ships and missiles in Crimea is fiction. The idea has never been proposed, suggested or discussed within NATO. In the Statement by the North Atlantic Council on Crimea on 18 March 2019, NATO condemned Russia's ongoing and wide-ranging military build-up in Crimea, and expressed concern by Russia's efforts and stated plans for a further military build-up in the Black Sea region.

See a similar case: After the Maidan, Crimea was supposed to become a NATO or US naval base.

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life.ru (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 183
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 05/02/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US, Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: Ukraine, Encircling Russia, Crimea, Euromaidan
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Disinfo: There is a total censorship in Swedish media

[Swedish] media connect the recent outbreaks of crime with clashes between criminal gangs, but never write a single word about the migrants, who are to blame for Sweden’s descent into chaos. The total censorship of Swedish media stops the citizens of the country from expressing their views in the press.

Feb 04, 2020
Disproof

Swedish media are not censored. Any issue, including migration, is addressed in the press. Sweden has the world's oldest legislation on the freedom of the speech. Crime is, as in any country, an issue dealt with by the judiciary, and the root causes of crime is very much discussed in Swedish media. Official Swedish statistics show that the crime rate in Sweden is relatively low and at a stable level.

Sweden is regularly targeted by pro-Kremlin disinformation efforts, displaying a narrative on the country "descending into chaos", due to migration and "perversions".

Disinfo: US is behind the spread of coronavirus

The United States is behind the spread of the new coronavirus worldwide. The new virus is spreading at a tremendous speed, from one continent to another. Is it really a new type of influenza? No, it is about an artificial crisis behind which stand economically motivated United States, because Americans fear that they are failing to compete with the Chinese or even catch up with them.

Feb 04, 2020
Disproof

Conspiracy theory and a recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the China coronavirus. The statement has no evidence.

According to various sources, several dozen strains of the coronavirus have been recorded in the world, seven of which present varying degrees of danger to humans. First and foremost, these types of viruses bring on respiratory disease. Viruses are dangerous because they can be transmitted by humans and animals and because they mutate so quickly.

Disinfo: The US stands behind the pressure upon the Serbian church of Montenegro

The chaos in the inter-church relations in Montenegro benefits both the Patriarch of Constantinople and Washington. In late December 2019, Podgorica adopted officially a law on secularisation of church property. Churches built before 1918 are declared state property. That is the bulk of the churches of Montenegro. The US and the Patriarch of Constantinople is interest in the realisation of this law. The Americans are putting pressure upon the Serbian patriarchate, demanding that it denounces the support of the Moscow Patriarchy and recognise the so-called Orthodox Church of Ukraine, established in 2018.

Feb 04, 2020
Disproof

Conspiracy theory; no evidence given. This claim involves the recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that the West threatens and undermines traditional Christian values. Related cases where the US is accused of attacking traditional values in Europe via "sects" can be found here, here, and here.