DISINFO: EU and US interference and coup in Ukraine caused the armed conflict in Donbas
SUMMARY
Russia does not perceive itself as a party to the conflict in the civil war in Ukraine. Wasn’t the gross (hybrid) interference of the US and the EU in the electoral process in Ukraine that caused the armed conflict in Donbas in 2014 and the return of Crimea to Russia? Facts can be denied or new interpretations can be invented, but it is impossible to change. Following the results of the referendum, Crimea - peacefully and legitimately - became part of Russia, and the irreversibility of this historical event is enshrined in the Russian Constitution.
RESPONSE
Several recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the Euromaidan protests, the illegal annexation of Crimea and the war in Ukraine.
There was no coup d’état in Ukraine in 2014; this is a longstanding pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine's Euromaidan protests.
No international body recognises the so-called referendum in Crimea, neither the UN, nor the EU. On the seventh anniversary of Crimea's annexation, the EU reiterated its position of non-recognition of illegal annexation and continues to stand in full solidarity with Ukraine, supporting its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
A year after the illegal annexation of Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin (proudly) admitted that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum.
The war in Ukraine is not a civil conflict but a well-documented act of aggression by Russian armed forces, ongoing since February 2014.
There is irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in Ukraine. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has stated that “the information available suggests that the situation within the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. This international armed conflict began at the latest on 26 February 2014 when the Russian Federation deployed members of its armed forces to gain control over parts of the Ukrainian territory without the consent of the Ukrainian Government."
Neither the US nor EU pushed Ukraine to an escalation in Donbas. This disinformation is used to distract attention from a renewed build-up of Russian armed forces along the Ukrainian borders in April 2021. Significant amounts of Russian heavy armament and equipment is maintained in the regions near the Ukrainian border contributing to heightened tension. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasised many times that Ukraine is not interested in resuming the conflict in Donbas. Ukraine, according to Zelenskyy, is committed to the implementation of the Minsk agreements.