MANIPULATION: A former State Department employee admitted that the US carried out a coup in Ukraine in 2014

Information is being circulated online claiming that an American official admitted that the US carried out a coup in Ukraine. As evidence, they cite the words of former US State Department employee Mike (Michael) Benz, who says that the White House toppled Ukrainian leadership in 2014. However, according to him, the US did not expect a “counter-coup” when “Donbas separated, and Crimea voted to join Russia.”

However, this is manipulation. The claim of a coup is a subjective assessment by a single official. The events of the Revolution of Dignity do not meet any criteria of a coup d’état. Mike Benz consistently spreads anti-Ukrainian statements and conspiracy theories.

Through reverse search, we found an interview published in May 2025, from which the shared fragment may have been cut out. This is indicated by Benz’s identical clothing and the matching background in both videos. He gave this interview to Tucker Carlson. However, it does not contain the fragment with statements about a coup organized by the US. It is possible that the host cut this part and published it separately from the interview, and later deleted it. There is also a possibility that the video was generated using AI, based on Benz’s interview with Carlson.

At the same time, these words are part of Benz’s broader anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. He consistently promotes the narrative that a US-facilitated coup took place in Ukraine in 2014. The official has also claimed that intelligence services use nongovernmental organizations to take over civil societies in other states, including Ukraine. Benz previously gave interviews to Tucker Carlson, whose statements we have repeatedly debunked.

Despite Benz constantly repeating the claim about a US-orchestrated coup in Ukraine, he provides no evidence that it actually happened. Therefore, this opinion is merely a subjective assessment by an individual American official.

Benz’s claim is false because the Revolution of Dignity had none of the characteristics of a coup d’état. The primary objective of a coup is to seize power by conspirators for their own benefit. The Revolution of Dignity began with rallies supporting the signing of the EU Association Agreement, known as Euromaidan. It later evolved into mass protests aimed at protecting human and civil rights, as well as democratic values. Power and gain were not its end goals. The outcomes of the revolution were the ratification of the EU Agreement and the holding of presidential and parliamentary elections.

Other signs of a coup include unconstitutionality and the use of violence, when weapons are the main tool for achieving the goal. All events of the Revolution of Dignity took place constitutionally, and protesters began using weapons for self-defense only after the authorities deployed armed security forces to disperse them.

In 2014, protests on Independence Square began after President Viktor Yanukovych decided to suspend preparations for signing the EU Association Agreement. The protest quickly escalated into violent clashes, during which law enforcement used firearms against demonstrators. As a result, 104 protesters were killed. In February 2014, Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine, and elections were held in the country, resulting in the election of a new president and government.

During the events of the Revolution of Dignity, US officials supported the protesters. American government representatives, including then–Vice President Joe Biden, urged former President Yanukovych to de-escalate, begin dialogue with opposition leaders, and respect the rights of protesters. However, there is no evidence that the protests were planned or funded by the US.

The White House indeed provided funds to Ukraine, as Benz claimed in the shared video. In particular, then–Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland stated in 2014 that since 1991, the US had allocated $5 billion to Ukraine. “It was various types of support, from funds to mitigate the consequences of the Chornobyl disaster to assistance for the economy — many different programs,” Nuland explained. At the same time, she added that the US spent more than three times that amount — $18 billion — on similar programs in Russia.

Furthermore, the narrative that Donbas “separated” and that people in Crimea voted for “joining” Russia is consistent with narratives promoted by Russia. In reality, in 2014, the Kremlin occupied parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and the decision to hold a “voluntary” referendum was made by the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in a building seized by then-unmarked Russian military forces and under gunpoint. Moreover, it took place with numerous violations, and the results of the “referendum” are not recognized by the majority of countries worldwide.