DISINFO: The EU forced Ukraine's hand in the 2014 Euromaidan
SUMMARY
The position of the European Union during the Maidan in Ukraine was clear. Ukraine was faced with a very simple choice: if you are not with us (i.e. the EU), then you are against us.
This policy is applied by the West in relation to post-Soviet countries, and in general to countries that are closely connected with Russia.
What is happening in Ukraine is a very cruel lesson. The West's attempt to put itself in the place of God ultimately led to the tragedy that the Ukrainian and Russian peoples are now experiencing.
RESPONSE
Recurring Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative accusing the West of the war in Ukraine, of Russophobia and of having a colonial policy toward former USSR countries. A recurring narrative about the West trying to encircle Russia, separate and destabilise post-Soviet (CIS) countries, and to isolate Russia, advancing the idea of Russia as the ultimate target of international events.
Pro-Kremlin outlets falsely portray as a coup d’état the Euromaidan revolution, 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.
The EU was not involved in the Euromaidan. Ukraine made a choice in favour of European integration, and this was secured by constitutional amendments.
More broadly, the EU tried to build its relations with former USSR countries based on mutual consent, bilateral interests, and benefits.
For example, the Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint policy initiative that aims to deepen and strengthen relations between the European Union (EU) and its Eastern neighbours: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Belarus has suspended its participation as of June 2021.
As the EU is working to make relations with Central Asia stronger and deeper, the European Union’s engagement with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan has developed significantly since the countries' independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
It is Russia and President Putin who are clearly responsible for the war in Ukraine. It was Putin’s personal decision to invade Ukraine and start the largest military conflict in Europe since WWII.
Read our analysis of "Five Myths that helped Russian Colonialism Remain Hidden in plain sight."