Disinfo: Ukraine's chances of joining the EU are miserable, economy is destroyed, industry in ruins, millions have left the country

Summary

Ukraine’s chances of joining the EU are miserable. Ukrainians are pleased to be among “good company”, but nobody wants to take them into such a company.

If you ask the Ukrainian authorities what they really did to join the European Union, the answer will be very sad. The economy of Ukraine is destroyed, industry is in ruins and the standard of living has fallen to such an extent that millions of Ukrainians have become migrants.

Disproof

Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative claiming that the European Union is tired of Ukraine and no longer wants to help it and that there is no chance of Ukraine joining the EU. It is also a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative portraying the economic situation of Ukraine as disastrous.

European integration is defined by the Ukrainian authorities as a priority. On 11 February 2020, Prime Minister of Ukraine, Oleksiy Honcharuk, met with EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Olivér Várhelyi, and discussed priorities for Ukraine-EU bilateral cooperation for 2020.

At the moment, the association agreement is the main tool for bringing Ukraine and the EU closer together. It promotes deeper political ties, stronger economic links and respect for common values. The deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA) is the economic part of the agreement. It offers a framework for modernising Ukraine's economy and trade relations.

A joint press release by the EU-Ukraine Association Council on 28 January 2020 "reaffirmed the continued commitment of the parties to strengthening the political association and economic integration of Ukraine with the European Union on the basis of the Association Agreement and its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area and to the common values enshrined in it."

Regarding the claim about Ukraine's economy being disastrous, according to the World Bank, the GDP of Ukraine grew by 3.5% in the first half of 2019, compared to 3.3% in 2018. The solid growth was driven by a strong agricultural harvest, as well as sectors dependent on domestic demand, including services (domestic trade, transport, and the financial sector) and construction. In 2019, the GDP of Ukraine was US$130.832 billion. Thirty years ago it was $82.709 billion - an increase of over 50 percent.

You can find similar cases of the Kremlin trying to undermine Ukraine's economy here.

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tsargrad.tv (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 184
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 11/02/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine
  • Keywords: Eastern Europe, European Union, EU/NATO enlargement, Abandoned Ukraine
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Disinfo: Coronavirus was created on purpose, probably by the same British lab which poisoned the Skripals

There is evidence that the coronavirus was created on purpose. First of all, both the US and the UK have announced the existence of a vaccine. But any expert knows that it’s not possible to create a vaccine against a virus, which was never seen before. In UK the Porton Down laboratory, a quite well known organisation which has been dealing with chemical and biological weapons for a long time has said they already have the vaccine. According to media, they have patented it already one year ago!

This is the same organisation which put the poison on the Skripals’ door handle. Probably they put something also over the city of Wuhan, Hubei province, for example, on the door handle of the subway, or rather not the door handle but this one [thing, object] which is being touched by thousands of people. Unfortunately, we can’t exclude such a situation. It can be an act of biological sabotage, it might have been carried out not by a State, for example, the US, but by certain private corporations. The appearance of such beneficiaries able to go on market already tomorrow with an already made vaccine is a not direct proof of that.

Feb 10, 2020
Disproof

The statement has no supporting evidence and is another example of conspiracy narratives on a plot against China, profitable to the US; on the UK which invented coronavirus. See more examples of groundless statements about the coronavirus here.

The current coronavirus (2019-nCoV) comes from a family of viruses that include other viruses such as SARS and MERS. It was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in central China and has been rapidly spreading with new cases being reported in the Asia-Pacific region as well as Europe, North America and the Middle East, causing more than 700 deaths by 10 February 2020.

Disinfo: New Ukrainian labour law permits employees to be fired for no reason

A new labour law in Ukraine includes permission to fire anyone from work at any time and for any reason.

Feb 10, 2020
Disproof

This is another example of the Kremlin's ongoing disinformation campaign to portray Ukraine as a failed state, misrepresenting the essence of a proposed Ukrainian labour law by selectively and hyperbolically reporting only on one provision and omitting the remaining context.

In total, four draft labour laws are under consideration in the Ukrainian Parliament. The final version of the law in question is not yet set, as discussions in the Verkhovna Rada are still ongoing. However, Economy Minister Tymofiy Mylovanov explained that while the Labour Bill does refer to the possibility of dismissing an employee on the initiative of the employer, this must not happen without an explanation of the reason. Moreover, Mylovanov wrote on his Facebook page, current legislation offers no material protections for employees who have been dismissed: according to the current code, there are ten reasons to dismiss an employee, and an employer can do so without bearing any financial responsibility for this decision. Under the new Labour Law, however, material compensation for dismissed employees would be made mandatory, also to discourage the transformation of business enterprises under false pretences for the sake of staff reduction. For the relevant excerpt of the bill explaining these provisions, see here.

Disinfo: A law on slavery is being prepared in Ukraine

A new Labour Code is being prepared in Ukraine, but it’s better to call it a law on slavery. While civilised countries make sure that people work as productively as possible, that is, give less time to the employer, work efficiently and productively, and spend more time with family and children, only in Ukraine, they believe that people should work around the clock.

Feb 10, 2020
Disproof

Part of the recurring pro-Kremlin narrative showing Ukraine as a failed state.

In total, four draft labour laws are being considered in the Ukrainian Parliament. The final version of the law is not yet set, as discussions in the Verkhovna Rada are still ongoing. Still, 40 hours per week are left as basic working hours. For 16-18-year-olds, it is shorter by 4 hours. The right to a flexible work schedule is also granted with consent. Rest periods between work shifts should be at least 12 hours every 24 hours. There is no mention of round-the-clock work. The annual basic paid leave is granted for a period of 24 calendar days for each working year, which is counted from the date of the employment contract.