DISINFO: Zelenskyy, Poroshenko, brought to power by US-sponsored coups
SUMMARY
Zelenskyy's visit to Italy on the 13th of May was accompanied by a series of falsehoods and lies. It is said that Zelenskyy represents a democratic country attacked by the Russians. In reality, Zelenskyy is a president whose election, like that of his predecessor Poroshenko, was made possible by a US-sponsored coup d'état implemented by ultranationalist armed squads of clear Nazi-fascist inspiration in 2014.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the 2013-14 protests in Kyiv falsely portrayed as a coup d'état led by US and the West, about the West’s support for the allegedly Nazi regime in Kyiv and a recurring narrative about the war in Ukraine, trying to deflect Russia’s responsibility for its unprovoked military aggression.
There was no coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014, and no US involvement in the events taking place. Pro-Kremlin outlets falsely portray the Euromaidan revolution as a coup d’état, the popular demonstrations that began in Kyiv in November of 2013 and brought hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians on to the streets to protest against a political decision of Viktor Yanukovych’s government, which at the last minute withdrew from a long-negotiated political association and free trade agreement with the EU, choosing instead to accept a $15 billion economic bailout to Russia.
Ukraine is a democracy, where Ukrainian citizens elect their president in competitive elections every 5 years.
Democratic, competitive and generally well-organised presidential and parliamentary elections were held in 2014 and local elections in 2015. Petro Poroshenko won the presidency in a free and transparent nationwide poll, as reported by the OSCE. The OSCE, which observed all these elections on the ground, characterised the presidential elections as showing the "clear resolve of the authorities to hold what was a genuine election largely in line with international commitments and with a respect for fundamental freedoms."
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected in 2019, in presidential election that were competitive and held with respect for fundamental freedoms, according to the OSCE.
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