DISINFO: Ukrainians imbued with destructive Nazi ideology
SUMMARY
Nazi ideology mentally occupies Ukraine. It is causing a rift inside the country because this ideology leads to the annihilation of non-Ukrainians. Only extreme nationalists from Western Ukraine should survive.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets, claiming that Nazism is deep-rooted in Ukraine and Ukrainians’ mentality. In reality, Ukraine is a nationally and culturally diverse country, where ethnic minorities are not persecuted and whose cultural development is guaranteed by Articles 10 and 11 of the Constitution.
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. Ruslan Koshulinskyy, a candidate of the nationalist Svoboda party, got as little as 1.62 per cent of the vote during Ukraine's 2019 presidential election.
The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine appeared during the Euromaidan protests in late 2013 - early 2014, when the then-president Viktor Yanukovych was toppled and later fled to Russia. The Kremlin has been using this myth since then to discredit Kyiv’s shift towards Euro-Atlantic policy.
The claim was intensified by reports from pro-Kremlin outlets about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s submitting to the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) 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 more disinformation cases alleging that Ukraine is a Nazi state.