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Disinfo: Ukraine launched a military operation against Donetsk and Luhansk

Summary

In April 2014, the Ukrainian authorities launched a military operation against the inhabitants of the two republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, which declared their independence unilaterally in protest against the coup in Ukraine in February of the same year. According to the latest UN statistics, the number of victims of this conflict has exceeded 13,000.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about war in Ukraine, aiming to portray the conflict as Ukraine's civil war.

The war in eastern Ukraine is not a civil conflict, but a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014.

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.

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

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publication/media

arabic.sputniknews.com
  • Reported in: Issue174
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 20/11/2019
  • Language/target audience: Arabic
  • Country: Russia, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Donetsk, Eastern Ukraine, War in Ukraine, Ukrainian statehood

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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Oppression of the Russian language provoked war in Donbas

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November 26, 2019
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, the Euromaidan and the status of the Russian language in Ukraine.

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