DISINFO: The West and Kyiv exterminated Russians in Ukraine and built a Nazi state
SUMMARY
The West supported the coup in Ukraine, and then decided to transform the genetic makeup there. Kyiv replaced Russians with Bandera elements, and built a real Nazi state on this basis.
RESPONSE
This is part of a disinformation campaign aiming to justify Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, which it has labeled a "special military operation".
It contains recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about Euromaidan, war in Ukraine, and a "genocide" in Ukraine. It is also consistent with disinformation narratives about ‘Nazi’ Ukraine.
The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been actively used by the pro-Kremlin outlets as one of the favorite tropes for years to denigrate Ukraine. The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine appeared during the Euromaidan protests in late 2013 - early 2014, falsely presented in pro-Kremlin sources as a coup, 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.
There has not been any replacement of Russians or any other national minorities in Ukraine. The rights of Russian-speaking citizens are guaranteed by the Ukrainian constitution and legislation. Articles 10 and 11 of the Constitution guarantee the free development of the languages and cultures of Ukraine’s ethnic minorities, including Russian-speakers.
There is no evidence that ethnic Russians were facing persecution at the hands of the Ukrainian authorities, much less the danger of annihilation on grounds of nationality, ethnicity, or cultural belonging. This has been confirmed by reports issued by the Council of Europe, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the OSCE. For an overview of the Kremlin's deployment of the "genocide" narrative regarding Ukraine, see further debunking by EUvsDisinfo, Euromaidan Press, and POLYGRAPH.info.
Read our recent articles on 7 myths of pro-Kremlin disinformation about the Russian military buildup near Ukraine, and Kremlin fabricated pretexts for the further invasion of Ukraine. For the background, see vol. 1 and vol. 2 of the series "What he said and what it really means".
Technical remark: This disinformation was published via RT Arabic on 4 July 2022. Due to the EU decision to restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the link may not work inside the EU.