DISINFO: Violent protesters killed 38 policemen during Kyiv coup
SUMMARY
The so-called “peaceful protests” in Kyiv, which culminated in the EU and US-sponsored coup against Ukraine’s elected leaders, resulted in the violent deaths of 38 policemen.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative painting the 2013-14 Euromaidan protests as a violent, Western-sponsored coup d'etat. 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. According to official estimates, 13 law enforcement officers and 113 civilians lost their lives during the Euromaidan protests in February 2014 See a more detailed debunk here.