DISINFO: The West is Nazi because it supports Nazism in Ukraine
SUMMARY
The West has lost all morals and is supporting Nazism in Ukraine, which means it is Nazi as well.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets discrediting the West and serving as justification for Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.
The myth of a Nazi Europe has been widely used by pro-Kremlin outlets since Russia attacked Ukraine and illegally annexed its peninsula of Crimea in 2014. The European Union was set up with the aim of ending the frequent and bloody wars between neighbours, which culminated in the Second World War. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.
The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine appeared during the Revolution of Dignity (aka Euromaidan) protests in late 2013 - early 2014, when the then-president Viktor Yanukovych was toppled and later fled to Russia. The Kremlin has been using this myth since then to discredit Kyiv’s shift toward Euro-Atlantic policy. The far-right groups had a limited presence during the Euromaidan protests. Nazi and Communist ideologies were banned by Ukrainian law in 2015. During the 2019 presidential election, the highest-rated nationalist candidate, Ruslan Koshulynskyy, won 1.62% of the vote. A united front of all radical right-wing parties in the 2019 parliamentary elections winning only 2.15% of the vote falling far short of the 5% minimum threshold for entry into parliament.
Read more disinformation cases claiming that the the EU is Hitler's 'New Europe', that the European Union justifies Nazism, that the The EU is a Nazi project, that the European Union has Nazi Roots and that the The EU continues the aggressive policies of Nazi.