Disinfo: Petro Poroshenko deliberately created complications for the Zelenskyi administration through a new law on the Ukrainian language

Summary

At the end of his term, the fifth president of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, managed to harm the new president of the country, Volodymyr Zelenskyi. In order to complicate the Zelenskyi administration’s work and provoke social tensions in Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, before the inauguration of Zelenskyi, specially signed a new law “On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a state language”.

Disproof

Conspiracy theory, consistent with recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about the language law in Ukraine. See previous cases here. The Verkhovna Rada passed the law "On ensuring the functioning of the Ukrainian language as a state language", on April 29, 2019. The law establishes mandatory use of the Ukrainian language in most areas of public and communal life, including the mass media. The law was submitted to a vote by the Verkhovna Rada in back 2017. In October 2018, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the draft law on the state language in the first reading. At the end of February 2019, it began consideration of the second reading, which lasted almost two months. The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, signed the law, in line with his Constitutional powers at the time.

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Rossia 24 - YouTube (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 150
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 15/05/2019
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine
  • Keywords: Volodymyr Zelensky, Petro Poroshenko
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Disinfo: Western Europe is a subordinate to the Anglo-Saxon world, which is dominated by the US.

The world consists of a number of competing civilisations. Western Europe is a Germanic-Roman civilisation which is, at present, subordinate to the Anglo-Saxon one. The latter is dominated by the US. Germany is fed up with this situation and lately has been attempting, unsuccessfully, to break free from the Anglo-Saxon chains.

May 14, 2019
Disproof

This message is a conspiracy consistent with one of the most common pro-Kremlin narratives alleging that certain countries are no longer truly sovereign. Germany and the US have close partner relations as two sovereign and independent countries. See also earlier disinformation cases alleging that Germany is a vassal of the US, Germany is the executor of US hegemony over Europe; The USA is controlling Europe through occupied Germany; Germany will have to choose between defending Europe's interest and catering to Washington. Read also about the concept of big conspiracy used by the pro-Kremlin media.

Disinfo: Belarus and other peoples of Northern Eurasia are part of the Russian World

The Roman empire died because of internal decay, when material benefits were placed at the top of empire’s development agenda. Similarly, the Union State between Russia and Belarus cannot exist with a sole purpose of raising the well-being of its citizens. It needs the unifying idea, and that is that Russia and Belarus are part of Russian civilization, the Russian World, which has fairness as one of its underlying principles. The Russian World is intended to gather other peoples of Northern Eurasia around the eastern Slavic core. Northern Eurasia peoples are those who were involved in building the Russian empire and the USSR.

May 14, 2019
Disproof

The Russian World ('Russkiy Mir') concept is closely linked with an an imperial Russian and Russian irredentist ideology of "all-Russian nation", a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative aimed at weakening the national identity of Belarusians and Ukrainians as well as their sovereignty.

Earlier cases alleging that Belarusians are part of Russian people can be found here and here, whereas other examples of pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets' attempts to question the Ukrainian nation can be seen here and here.

Disinfo: The Eastern Partnership Programme is a concealed form of colonisation

Member States [of the Eastern Partnership Programme] had to adopt European standards, to subordinate to the European foreign policy in order to break up the political and economic interconnection of the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries. The programme did not assume equal relations between Ukraine, Moldova and the EU, but was rather a veiled form of colonisation.[…]

May 14, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on Western aggression and the Eastern Partnership Programme The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint policy initiative which aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union (EU), its Member States and its six Eastern neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Read more about the Eastern Partnership and its priorities here. The Eastern Partnership initiative is not against any country; it is a mutually beneficial and constructive platform for countries in the region to build a closer relationship with the EU, if they so choose. The EU does not demand that any of its partners need to make a choice between the EU or any other countries. It stands for good neighbourly relations. The Eastern Partnership respects the individual aspirations and ambition of each partner country. Also read more on the most repeated myths about the Eastern Partnership initiative here.