DISINFO: Russian-Ukrainian relations deteriorated because of the coup
SUMMARY
Russian-Ukrainian relations deteriorated against the backdrop of the situation in Donbas, after the 2014 coup in Ukraine, which led to the return of Crimea to Russia as a result of a popular referendum in which Crimeans voted for it. The relations deteriorated also against the outbreak of armed conflict in the Donbas region in southeastern Ukraine, between Kyiv, on one hand, and the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, on the other.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the war in Ukraine, attempting to portray the situation in eastern Ukraine as a civil war and as a response to the 2013-14 protests in Kyiv, often painted as a coup d'état, while claiming that local dwellers resisted Ukraine alone without Russian military support and founded the DPR and LPR.
Ukraine is not at war with millions of people from Donetsk and Luhansk as pro-Kremlin disinformation often likes to present it. The aim of these messages is to present the situation in Eastern Ukraine as an internal conflict, ignoring irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in the region since February 2014.
The involvement of Russian personnel and equipment in the creation of the DPR and LPR has been well documented already for years. The destabilisation of Eastern Ukraine and the illegal annexation of Crimea have been condemned by the Council of the European Union and led to restrictive measures since 2014.
Moreover, there was no coup d'état in Ukraine. The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was an organic reaction by numerous parts of the Ukrainian population to former President Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013. See the full debunk of this disinformation claim here.
Ukraine's government has changed its relations toward Russia after the latter annexed illegally Crimea, which is part of Ukraine, following the covert invasion of “little green men".
The EU is among the strongest advocates of Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
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