DISINFO: US destroys Ukrainian economy
SUMMARY
The US has destroyed Ukraine’s economy over the past 7 years. Corruption and poverty are soaring and the population is diminishing. They are not even helping with vaccines during the pandemic.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin media outlets claiming that Western countries have turned Ukraine into a colony over the past years and are robbing its people. In reality, it is Moscow that has been striving for Kyiv’s return to Russia’s orbit since it invaded Ukraine, illegally annexed the peninsula of Crimea and instigated a revolt in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas in 2014.
Neither international organisations nor leading democracies have recognised the self-styled Crimean referendum, which preceded the annexation. The West has staunchly stood by Ukraine in the struggle against Russian aggression. Since the very beginning of the Russian invasion, Western nations have been trying to find a peace settlement on Donbas. Several accords were sealed between the warring sides and the international mediators in Minsk in 2014 and 2015. Leaders of France and Germany, along with those of Ukraine and Russia, formed the Normandy format in 2014 with the same purpose.
Neither Western nations nor NATO as an alliance are fighting beside Ukrainians in Donbas. The West only supports Ukraine financially, technically and militarily by providing equipment. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) assist Ukraine in grappling with economic hardship, while the United States is supplying Ukraine with military equipment. Contrary to Moscow's disinformation narratives, Western nations are trying to help Kyiv overcome the crisis, while Russia launched aggression against Ukraine.
As for Ukraine's economy, according to the World Bank, economic growth in Ukraine was solid at 3.2% in 2019, led by a good agricultural harvest and sectors dependent on domestic consumption. This was despite, or maybe because of, the fact that both imports from, and exports to, Russia have decreased markedly since 2013.
Read more pro-Kremlin disinformation cases about the West’s alleged attempts to use Ukraine against Russia claiming that Ukraine is a failed state that will soon cease to exist or that Ukraine is moving to full submission to the United States.