DISINFO: Reason for Yanukovych departure in 2014 was a coup d'état led by a fascist junta

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

DISINFO: Reason for Yanukovych departure in 2014 was a coup d'état led by a fascist junta

SUMMARY

Since President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kyiv in February 2014, supporters and opponents of the Maidan have been arguing over views of the events that led to his overthrow. [...] For opponents, it was a coup d'état led by an armed and violent far-right mob that established not a democracy but a "fascist junta" to replace the democratically elected government of Yanukovych.

RESPONSE

There was no coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014; this is a longstanding pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine's Euromaidan protests.

The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was a reaction from several segments of the Ukrainian population to former President Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013, after pressure from Russia. Several elections to parliament and president have taken place since; all reflecting the changes of political power which is a testimony of democratic developments in Ukraine.

See the debunk here: The Western-backed coup in Ukraine has torn the country asunder.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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