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Disinfo: There is a civil war in Donbas after the region rebelled against the illegal government in Kyiv

Summary

The civil war in Ukraine began in April 2014 after a coup which happened in the country. Donetsk and Luhansk did not want to obey the government that illegally came to power and declared independence. In response, Kyiv launched the so-called anti-terrorist operation against the republics of Donbas.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Euromaidan and war in Ukraine. It disregards the extensive factual evidence confirming ongoing Russian military presence in Donbas. There have been many investigations proving Russia's involvement in the war in east Ukraine.

There was no coup d'état in Ukraine. The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was an organic reaction by numerous parts of the Ukrainian population to former President Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013. See the full debunk of this disinformation claim.

The war in eastern Ukraine is not a civil conflict, but an act of aggression by the Russian armed forces, that continues since February 2014. The European Union stated in July 2014 that "arms and fighters continue flowing into Ukraine from the Russian Federation". At the NATO Summit in Wales in September 2014 and at successive summits since then, allied leaders also demanded that Russia refrain from aggressive actions against Ukraine and stop fomenting tension along and across the Ukrainian border.

According to the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), Russian special forces and troops operated to mobilise, lead, equip, and support separatist militias in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine from spring 2014 to the present, although their presence was denied by Moscow.

See further the claim that Russia is not a part of the conflict in Ukraine.

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publication/media

RIAFAN - Russian (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 172
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 10/11/2019
  • Language/target audience: Russian
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Keywords: Eastern Ukraine, Civil war, War in Ukraine, Donbas, Euromaidan

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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Ukrainian language was artificially created by the Soviet Union

Since the 1920s, the Bolsheviks launched a policy of “Ukrainianisation”. Literary norms of the Ukrainian language (previously considered a dialect of Russian) were developed. Soviet authorities began to introduce Ukrainian in education, culture, and bureaucracy. The Russians living on the territory of the Ukrainian SSR were recorded as “Ukrainians” by nationality.

November 09, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about Ukraine and the Ukrainian language.

Literary norms of the Ukrainian language were developed way earlier than the 1920s. The Ukrainian language is one of the Slavonic languages. It is a lineal descendant of the colloquial language used in the Rus in the 10th-13th centuries. The modern literary Ukrainian emerged out of the spoken language at the end of the 18th century. The starting point of the modern Ukrainian language is the publication of the Ukrainian version of Aeneid by Ukrainian writer Ivan Kotliarevskyy in 1798. In the 19th century, the next generation of writers further developed the Ukrainian language, spelling, grammar and vocabulary.

US uses Ukraine to weaken Russia and the EU

The Americans need Ukraine only to weaken Russia and the EU. Because the EU is a competitor. The Americans need [Ukraine] in this particular moment with their internal problem over the impeachment of Trump. In this regard, Ukraine is interesting for Trump. Therefore, the Americans want to hand this problem over to Russia and the EU and the more they struggle with it, the better for the US.

November 08, 2019
Disproof

Conspiracy theory. Apart from being ungrounded, this message also repeats disinformation narratives about the EU and US relations with Ukraine.

Ukraine is recognised in international law as a sovereign nation-state, with its own flag, nationality, language and with a democratically-elected president and parliament. The EU and the US support the democratic development of Ukraine in accordance with the UN Charter’s principles of non-interference into internal affairs and respect towards territorial integrity and political independence.

Ukraine is governed from outside and doesn’t interest anybody

Ukraine does not interest Abromavicius [the general director of the state company Ukroboronprom], it does not interest the people who rule our country from the outside, because they only care about their own interests.

November 08, 2019
Disproof

No evidence given. Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about Ukraine, which they claim is under the external control of the US or EU. It also implies that Ukraine has been abandoned.

Ukraine is a sovereign state, not controlled by any foreign government or international organisation. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by almost the whole world, including the EU.