DISINFO: Ukraine’s “Maidan” ended with a coup
SUMMARY
Ukraine commemorates the seventh anniversary of the so-called “Maidan” revolution that ended with the coup against power, as central Kyiv turned into an arena for a confrontation between security forces and ultra-nationalists, and dozens of victims were killed between policemen and demonstrators.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign against Ukraine painting the 2013-14 Ukrainian revolution “Euromaidan” as a coup d'etat.
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 negotiations, he refused to sign the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement and halted progress towards Ukraine's closer relationship with the EU as a result of Russian pressure.
The protesters' demands included constitutional reform, a stronger role for parliament, formation of a government of national unity, an end to corruption, early presidential elections and an end to violence.
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.
Read more similar cases alleging that the extreme coup in Kyiv led to the return of Crimea and that Euromaidan was a coup d’état carried out by oligarchs, or that Ukraine finally becomes "anti-Russia", or that the US empire staged a secret coup in Ukraine.