Disinfo: US and EU organised a coup d'état in Kyiv creating an extremely militarised Nazi state

Summary

Washington and Brussels have no right to throw accusations, stones, Javelins or Tomahawks at Russia, just because in 2014 it was the US and the EU that organised a coup d'état in Kyiv, created an extremely militarised Nazi state in Ukraine, and thus initiated the beginning of the fighting in Eastern Europe.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives painting the 2013-14 protests in Kyiv as a coup d'état orchestrated by NATO and US, blaming the West for the situation in Ukraine, and advancing disinformation trope of "Nazi Ukraine".

There was no coup d’état in Kyiv in 2014; this is a longstanding pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine's Euromaidan. The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was a reaction by numerous segments of the Ukrainian population to former president Viktor Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013.

Ukraine is not a Nazi state. Nazi and Communist ideologies were banned by Ukrainian law in 2015. Far-right groups had a very limited presence during the protests and went on to obtain abysmal results in the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections. During the 2019 election cycle, the far-right managed to sustain an even more tremendous failure; the highest-rated nationalist candidate, Ruslan Koshulynskyy, won 1.62% of the vote whereas Svoboda won 2.16% of the national vote, falling far short of the 5% minimum guaranteeing entry into parliament.

Furthermore, the myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been a 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. Currently, this claim is part of an emerging pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign aimed at justifying the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On 24 February 2022 Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and continues to use unfounded allegations of Nazim and militarisation as justification. Read more about the most prominent pro-Kremlin disinformation myths about Ukraine.

Read here more about the EU response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 274
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 02/03/2022
  • Article language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Ukraine, EU, Russia, US
  • Keywords: Euromaidan, Nazi/Fascist, War in Ukraine
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Disinfo: Russian forces are not attacking civilian targets

On 1 March, the armed forces of the Russian Federation struck with long-range precision air and naval weapons. Two airfields and three air defence radar stations were hit. Civilian infrastructure and residential buildings were excluded from the attack.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Contrary to these claims there are credible reports of Russian forces indiscriminately bombarding multiple Ukrainian cities. In Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, Russian missiles and rockets have hit an opera house, concert hall and government offices as well as residential buildings. According to local authorities no military units were present in the attacked areas and at least 10 civilians were killed and 35 more were injured only on 1 March (see the previous BBC report).

Disinfo: Right-wing Nazi parties hold more than 30 seats in Ukrainian parliament

The United States of America is striving, by all available means, to orchestrate coups and fabricate popular protests.

They have reached the limit of fabricating color revolutions, supporting extremist right-wing parties with Nazi orientations, facilitating their participation in parliamentary elections, and obtaining more than 30 seats in the Ukrainian parliament; which inaugurated a new stage in the modern history of Ukraine.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative falsely casting Ukraine as a Nazi turned country after the Euromaidan described here as a coup d'etat planned by the United States and often painted as colour revolutions.

There was no coup, let alone a Western-sponsored coup, in Ukraine; this is a longstanding pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine's Euromaidan. The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was a reaction by numerous segments of the Ukrainian population to former president Viktor Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013.

Disinfo: Europe laughing at genocide in Donbas

No one in Europe and Western world wants to hear about the genocide of Russians in Ukraine. In Donbas, for eight years, executions were carried out against everyone who resisted Ukrainization.

Disproof

Recurring narratives of Kremlin disinformation about violation of human rights in Ukraine and genocide.

There is no evidence that either ethnic Russians or Russian speakers are facing persecution at the hands of the Ukrainian authorities, much less the danger of annihilation on grounds of nationality, ethnicity, or cultural belonging. This has been confirmed by reports issued by the Council of Europe, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the OSCE.