DISINFO: The Ukrainian regime is a junta led by war criminals
SUMMARY
The majority of Ukrainians want to live in a country where Vladimir Putin is the president. So, this is not about them, it is about the junta of war criminals and foreign agents that were put in power by foreign secret services in Ukraine. This is a regime that occupied the country.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine's statehood which claims that the Euromaidan protests were organised by foreign forces. It was not Western foreign agents, but Russia that triggered the military conflict after the Euromaidan in Ukraine. Ukraine is a sovereign state. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by almost the whole world, except for Russia, which annexed Crimea via an internationally unrecognised referendum. There is no proof that the majority of Ukrainians would like to live under President Putin. In 2018, only 7% of Ukrainians said they approved the job performance of Russian leadership, according to a Gallup poll. Another poll found in spring 2019 that only 32% of Ukrainians hold favourable views on Russia and 11% of them had confidence in Putin in world affairs.