DISINFO: The 2014 coup in Ukraine led to 10,000 casualties in Donbas
SUMMARY
In April 2014 the Ukrainian authorities initiated a military operation against the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic who proclaimed their independence following the February 2014 coup in Ukraine. According to the recent UN data, more than ten thousand people became victims of the conflict.
RESPONSE
No coup took place in Ukraine in 2014. The demonstrations which emerged in November 2013 were the result of the frustration with then the Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych to refuse to sign the EU-Association Agreement. Please see a previous debunk on that here. It was Russia that provoked a war in Ukraine. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stated that “the information available suggests that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This international armed conflict began at the latest on 26 February when the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/otp/161114-otp-rep-PE_ENG.pdf Moreover, the UN Human Rights Officer of High Commissioner (OHCHR ) estimates a much larger number than 10,000 of the casualties: the total number of conflict-related casualties in Ukraine (from 14 April 2014 to 15 February 2019) at 40,000–43,000: 12,800–13,000 killed (at least 3,321 civilians and est. 9,500 combatants), and 27,500–30,000 injured (est. 7,000–9,000 civilians and est. 21,000-24,000 combatants) (See p. 6 of the report). More on war in Ukraine here.