DISINFO: The coup in 2013-2014 is the root cause of the war and other problems in Ukraine
SUMMARY
Ukrainian politicians still do not want to admit that the unconstitutional seizure of power in Kyiv was the root cause of the upheavals in the country. Instead, the so-called “Maidan victors” decided to use force to suppress the dissenters in various regions of Ukraine. They imposed an almost complete ban on the Russian language, initiated lustration, the liquidation of parties and NGOs, the closure of oppositional media, and the lifting of restrictions on the propaganda of neo-Nazi ideology. And the Western mediators – France, Germany, and Poland, who acted as guarantors of the agreement of February 21, 2014 – in fact, withdrew from fulfilling the promises. Almost seven years later, Kyiv is still afraid to face the truth and admit guilt for the tragic consequences of the bloody coup. They prefer to hide their fear behind anti-Russian and Russophobic rhetoric.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign against Ukraine, containing multiple disinformation narratives regarding the Euromaidan, the war in Ukraine and Ukrainian statehood. There was no coup in Ukraine seven years ago. The demonstrations which began in Kyiv in November 2013 – called "Maidan", or "Euromaidan" – were a result of the Ukrainian people's frustration with former President Yanukovych's last-minute U-turn when, after seven years of negotiation, he refused to sign the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement and halted progress towards Ukraine's closer relationship with the EU. The Ukrainian government, which came into power after the Euromaidan, did not use force to suppress the dissenters. The war in eastern Ukraine, which is often regarded as an outcome of this, is actually a well-documented case of Russian armed aggression. Ukraine did not ban the Russian language, closed parties, NGOs, or oppositional media. The Russian language remains one of the minority languages in Ukraine; it can be used in private communication and religious ceremonies, in book publishing and the press, including radio and television, in education, the service sector, the healthcare system, and in law enforcement. New parties with oppositional ideology as well as new media came into existence after 2014. Ukraine did not propagate the neo-Nazi ideology. The Nazi and Communist ideologies were banned by a Ukrainian law in 2015. See similar disinformation cases alleging that Euromaidan and pro-European politics led to the collapse of Ukraine, that the USA destroys Ukrainian identity, or that Ukraine finally becomes "anti-Russia".