Disinfo: Ukrainian authorities turned a blind eye toward Nazi groups

Summary

Kyiv has turned a blind eye to openly neo-Nazi groups and embedded them in the power structure of the country. For many years the Nazis were completely free from any danger and persecution. They were free to do as they pleased. It was not only in Western Ukraine, where they traditionally did this, but it started to spread throughout the country.

Disproof

A recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Nazi Ukraine, presented as justification for Russian military aggression against Ukraine, which started on 24 February 2022. In reality, Ukraine is not a Nazi state and Nazism is not Ukraine’s ideology.

The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been the cornerstone of Russian disinformation about the country since the very beginning of the 2013-14 Euromaidan protests, when it was used to discredit the pro-European popular uprising in Kyiv and, subsequently, the broader pro-Western shift in Ukraine's foreign policy.

In 2015 Ukraine issued a ban on Nazi and Communist ideologies. On top of that, the far-right groups had a limited presence during the Euromaidan protests and have suffered defeats in every national election after that, with 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 guaranteeing entry into parliament.

Learn more about the reasons behind Kremlin's obsession with framing Ukraine as a Nazi state in the EUvsDisinfo analysis titled "Why does Putin portray himself as the tamer of neo-Nazism".

See the EU's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine here along with EU vs Disinfo's Guide to Deciphering Pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's War.

Go to search

publication/media

oroszhirek.hu (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 279
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 03/04/2022
  • Article language(s) Hungarian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: Nazi/Fascist, War in Ukraine, Police
see more

Disinfo: Ukrainian Nazis were occupying the bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol

Ukrainian model and blogger Marianna Podgurskaya, who turned out to be one of the women documented in the reports about the shelling of maternity hospital No. 1 in Mariupol, said that the nationalists took away food from pregnant women and turned the medical facility into barracks for militants.

In March 2022, unidentified persons from among the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and volunteer nationalist battalions in Mariupol fired at the maternity hospital building at 36 Pashkovsky Street. After that, they placed equipment and heavy weapons, seized and forcibly kept at least 100 civilians inside the building, including pregnant women and at least 40 children, using them as hostages and human shields, driving them into the basement.

Apr 01, 2022
Disproof

The disinformation is part of a well-known Kremlin tactics to sow doubt, to obfuscate and deflect responsibility for its horrific acts.

The tragedy described by the disinformation articles occurred on 9 March 2022. Marianna Vyshemirskaya, born Pidgurskaya, is one of the pregnant women featured in the pictures from the bombed maternity hospital in Mariupol, the city that is currently under Russian siege.

Disinfo: EU is not considering Russian interests, is Russophobe

Russia will not forget the European Union’s hostile attitude, imposing unfair sanctions in response to the special operation to demilitarize Ukraine. The EU should renounce the policy of diktat and start considering Russia’s legitimate interests, in order to normalise relations.

Apr 01, 2022
Disproof

This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets accusing the European Union and the West of Russophobia.

In reality, the EU does not harbour animosity towards Russia. It aims to establish equal and good-neighbourly relations with Moscow. Western nations have always been calling for solving all problems with Russia in a peaceful and diplomatic manner. Moscow’s overall aggressive policy has led to a tougher and better-balanced policy towards it by the West.

Disinfo: The Anglo-Saxons turn Ukraine into a new Afghanistan in order to weaken Europe

The Anglo-Saxons do not want a strong Europe – they want to keep it weak and subordinate. For this goal, they use different tools. For example, George W. Bush spoke of the “new Europe”, which was supposed to undermine the plans of Berlin and Paris. Ukraine is another instrument for the destruction of the EU.

In 2014, the Heads of MFA of France, Germany and Poland were supposed to guarantee a peaceful transformation in Kyiv, but on the next day, the USA supported the anti-Constitutional coup. Later, Germany and France became guarantors of the Minsk agreements, but the Anglo-Saxons flooded Ukraine with weapons. They do not hide that they want to create a new Afghanistan in Europe. The Afghanisation of Ukraine is realised not only against Russia but above all, against Europe.

Mar 31, 2022
Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin narrative, challenging Ukraine’s statehood and trying to blame the West for the Russian invasion of Ukraine by painting Ukraine as a puppet of the West.

Ukraine is a sovereign state with a democratically elected government and its own foreign and security policy. The country is not controlled by the US, EU or any other foreign organisation or government. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by most of the world but have been violated by Russia since 2014. Western countries are only supporting lethal military aid and financial aid to Ukraine for the country’s efficient self-defence against the unprovoked Russian invasion.