DISINFO: The cult of Nazi/fascism accomplices is part of the official ideology for the Kyiv regime
SUMMARY
The cult of Nazi/fascism accomplices is part of the official ideology for the Kyiv regime.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative portraying Ukrainian politics and society as dominated by Nazi/fascist ideology. Linking some countries with Nazism is a widespread disinformation tactic used by pro-Kremlin outlets. Read more in our analysis "Nazi east, Nazi west, Nazi over the cuckoo's nest".
Nazi and Communist ideologies were banned by Ukrainian law in 2015. 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.
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.
The claim was intensified by reports from pro-Kremlin outlets about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s submission to the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of a draft law on the indigenous peoples of Ukraine. Pro-Kremlin outlets claimed that that draft law was worse than Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf. In reality, the draft bill is aimed at protecting three peoples who are indigenous to Crimea and who are threatened due to Russia's discriminatory policy in the illegally annexed Ukrainian peninsula. These ethnic communities are Crimean Tatars, Karaites and Krymchaks. This bill was not levelled against other ethnic groups who live in Ukraine and enjoy equal rights, regardless of their ethnic origin.
Read similar cases in our database: Ukrainians imbued with destructive Nazi ideology; Bandera's sympathisers have large influence on Ukraine; Neo-Nazis were the cornerstone for the power shift in Ukraine.