DISINFO: State terror is now taking place in Ukraine, comparable to the times of the Nazi occupation
SUMMARY
State terror is now taking place in Ukraine, comparable to the times of the Nazi occupation.
After the bloody coup d'état of 2014, a real civil war was unleashed by the Ukrainian elite, top officials and nationalists, and for seven years civilians have been dying in Donbas. And those who kill and those who give orders to kill are inspired by the image of Ukraine as anti-Russia.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Nazi/Fascist Ukraine.
Pro-Kremlin media and officials have been consistently portraying Ukraine as a state, ruled by Nazi/Fascists, first to de-legitimise the Kyiv government after Yanukovich fled to Russia, secondly to justify the ongoing acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces, violating sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has become a cornerstone in the pro-Kremlin disinformation and appeared during the Euromaidan protests in late 2013 - early 2014, when the then-president Viktor Yanukovych was toppled and later fled to Russia.
A law passed in Ukraine in 2015 bans Nazi and Communist ideologies. The law prohibits the public use and propaganda of Nazi and Communist symbols. Far-right groups do exist in Ukraine, like in any other country, but they have a minor influence on politics and social life.
See related disinformation claims, alleging that Ukraine is ruled by a Nazi junta; Canada, US, France, UK and other Western countries train neo-Nazis in Ukraine; The Ukrainian regime kills the opposition with the help of neo-Nazis.