Disinfo: US orchestrated the bloody Maidan coup with right-wing and fascist forces

Summary

Biden's foreign policy team is made up of the chief architects of the bloody Maidan coup, which was organised with the hands of right-wing and fascist forces and directed against Ukraine's then democratically elected president Viktor Yanukovych in 2014.

Disproof

A recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Euromaidan portraying the 2013-14 Ukrainian revolution as a coup d'etat orchestrated by the United States.

There was no coup d’état in Kyiv in 2014. 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.

Far-right groups had a very limited presence during the protests and have suffered defeats in every national election after that.

Read similar cases claiming that A violent coup d’état took place in Ukraine in 2014, that The US supported the 2014 coup d’état in Ukraine or that The EU supported an unconstitutional coup d'état in Ukraine led by the US.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 270
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 18/12/2021
  • Article language(s) German
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: US, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Nazi/Fascist, Coup, Joe Biden, Euromaidan
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Disinfo: Lithuania is a cannon fodder for the US

Lithuania is a puppet of the United States. The US is using Vilnius as cannon fodder in international relations. Lithuania is an American tool to destabilise the situation in other countries.

Disproof

A recurring narrative about Lithuania as one of the puppets of the US.

Lithuania is an independent state with its own domestic and foreign policy. Relations between the US and Lithuania are based on friendship and respect. Washington provides broad support to Lithuania after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Disinfo: Lithuania and other Eastern European states are afraid Russian threat will disappear

The Eastern European countries are afraid that Western countries could discuss security with Russia and could provide security guarantees to Moscow. Moscow explained that is concerned due to NATO's actions near the border with Russia. If Alliance reassures Russia about its security, the situation in the region will stabilise and the so-called “Russian threat” will disappear. It is good for Lithuania but Vilnius is afraid that without the “Russian threat” it will not have the support of the US anymore. The Baltic states would need to seek a new master. Russia also will disappear as an excuse for all domestic problems.

Disproof

The narrative presents Lithuania, the Baltic states and other Eastern European countries as Russophobic. The message also downplays Russian threat.

Lithuania, or the Baltic states, prefers stabilisation of the security in the region but, in this case, the broader context of the situation is important. The message is linked to Russia's "wish list" to NATO presented by Moscow on 17 December (read about it more here). Lithuania's minister of defence Arvydas Anušauskas evaluated Moscow's security demands to NATO as an attempt to divide Europe into security spheres.

Disinfo: Berlin put pressure on neighbouring Luxembourg to deny RT's licence

According to reports in the German media earlier this year, Berlin put pressure on neighbouring Luxembourg to deny RT's licence.

Disproof

Accusations of censorship and attacks against freedom of expression are a recurring pro-Kremlin technique to defend the illicit actions of Russia’s state-sponsored disinformation outlets after local authorities adopt measures against them.

The claim is false. An article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung said there had been a meeting between Luxembourg's intelligence agency SREL, the media regulator ALIA, diplomats and their German counterparts about the possible application of a German-language channel by RT to stream from December. But according to government sources from the Grand Duchy, it had contacted the German authorities in order to ensure that an EU directive for audio-visual media was correctly applied. There is no evidence that the German authorities pressured their counterparts in Luxembourg to deny RT’s operation.