Disinfo: West caused Ukraine coup, Belarus colour revolution

Summary

Why does the West allow itself to interfere in Belarus, with funds, coordination and technology of colour revolutions, after it caused the 2014 coup in Ukraine, and the subsequent division in the country? Why does it allow itself to recruit an opposition that openly works for its interests day and night, and then it is surprised by Russia's defence of its interests, lands and sovereignty?

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the protests in Belarus and Ukraine. This is consistent with the narrative about popular protests around the world which claims that they are incited and funded by Western states, including colour revolutions in post-Soviet states, the “Arab Spring” revolts, Euromaidan in Ukraine, protests in Catalonia and others. It claims that protests, disorders and civil uprisings are never manifestations of popular discontent but are “colour revolutions” directed and funded by the West.

First, Western countries did not organise protests in Belarus. Large-scale protests began in Minsk on August 9 against the results of the presidential election and then spread to other cities. People revolted against election fraud and police violence towards thousands of rally participants.

According to statistical data and independent observers, the official result of the presidential election was heavily doctored. A joint monitoring effort by three NGOs demonstrates the scale of falsification based on election protocols from 1,310 polling stations across Belarus and concludes that the announced result (80% of votes cast for Lukashenka) is mathematically "impossible" (p. 7). An analysis by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper shows that excluding "anomalous" voting districts from the official tally would see Lukashenka's percentage drop to 43%, and Tsikhanouskaya's surge to 45%, in which case a second round would have to be called.

Second, there was no coup d'état in Ukraine. The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was an organic reaction by numerous segments of the Ukrainian population to former President Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013. See the full debunk of this disinformation claim here. The war in eastern Ukraine is not a West-driven civil conflict but a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014.

See related examples of disinformation messages alleging that the protests in Belarus are a colour revolution conducted according to Maidan scenario; the EU continues to support a colour revolution in Belarus; the EU provoked a civil war in Ukraine, now it destabilises Belarus; and that the West wants to prepare Maidan in Belarus.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 248
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 12/06/2021
  • Article language(s) Arabic
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Belarus, Ukraine, Russia
  • Keywords: Colour revolutions, West, Ukrainian statehood, Ukrainian disintegration
see more

Disinfo: RAND Corporation and CFR are helping US power élites to re-establish repressive global domination

The task of the Rand Corporation, the Council of Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission is to design strategies to re-establish the US power élite’s imperialist and repressive global domination. These organisations provide analytical support for Washington’s hybrid war aimed at global domination. They produce theories of imperialist domination for the US government.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the United States and global elites. It also contains the narrative, often spread by pro-Kremlin outlets, claiming that US think tanks design and/or decide the US’s imperialist foreign policies aimed at world domination.

RAND Corporation, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Trilateral Commission conduct research, analysis and discussions to generate policy proposals on specific issues for the US and other governments. They do not support an alleged “US hybrid war for global domination”, as the disinformation claim suggests.

Disinfo: European states are vassals of the US

European states are vassals of the US and are forced to support the US State Department’s disinformation campaigns about the ‘Russian threat’, to increase their defence spending and acquisition of US weapons and to block any kind of cooperation with Russia.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the lack of sovereignty of EU countries, which are allegedly controlled by the US, combined with the recurring narrative claiming that the “Russian threat” is a false idea and an expression of Russophobia, created by the US and other Western actors to isolate and encircle Russia.

It is not true, as the article claims, that European states are “vassals of the US”: EU Member States are sovereign countries and make sovereign decisions about their own internal, economic, foreign and security policies.

Disinfo: NATO uses military exercises to deliver arms to Ukraine

NATO is using a series of military exercises in Eastern Europe, such as "Sea Breeze" and "Defender Europe 2021" to transfer secretly weapons to Ukraine which could end up being used in Donbas.

Disproof

This is a recurring disinformation narrative about NATO and its military exercises. It claims that NATO supplies Ukraine with weapons secretly and in circumvention of international law. Such messages also imply that NATO-Ukraine joint war games threaten Russia's security and serve as a justification of its military build-up along Ukraine’s border.

NATO is a defensive alliance, whose purpose is to protect its member states. During the Warsaw summit in July 2016, NATO has made it clear that: "The Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia". The Brussels Summit Declaration from 2018 concludes that “Russia’s aggressive actions, including the threat and use of force to attain political goals, challenge the Alliance and are undermining Euro-Atlantic security and the rules-based international order.”