Overview of pro-Russian narratives in Germany and Italy media on the West control of Ukraine and use of Ukraine in its advantage

And all because in this way Ukraine somehow destroyed the stability of the “Russian government”, even until 2014, the Kremlin, through its representatives in some state institutions, controlled the situation in country. Russian propaganda affirmed that the West controls state authorities in Ukraine and organized a coup d’état in 2014, as a result a seizure of power took place.

Let us explain what is really happening.

Fake: The West controls the authorities in Ukraine 

The pro-Russian German and Italian media are spreading the Kremlin’s narratives that the Ukrainian government is under direct control of the United States.

• “The only real source of power in Ukraine is not the electorate, means the people, but the US Embassy” (“ Die einzige wirkliche Quelle der Macht in der Ukraine sei nicht die Wählerschaft, also das Volk, sondern die US-Botschaft”) – RT.DE
• “It has been five years since the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, which began with the Maidan, led to a Kyiv coup and forced Donetsk territories to secede from their homeland in order to preserve Russia’s identity, which threatened a new course of Kyiv’s puppet government remotely controlled by Washington’s” (“ Sono trascorsi 5 anni dalla “rivoluzione arancione” in Ucraina , quella partita da Piazza Maidan che portò al Golpe di Kiev e che spinse i territori del Donetsk a staccarsi dalla madrepatria per preservare l’ identità russa , minacciata dal nuovo corso del governo “fantoccio” di Kiev, teleguidato da Washington e dal grupo di potere dei neocon”) – Controinformazione

What is the truth?

Ukrainian government authorities independently support domestic and foreign policy.

The decision on state management is praised by internal participants of the political process. Western partners, e.g. the USA, can offer their support, but only the president or other authorized person can decide whether to accept or decline such offer. Moreover, they cannot in any way participate in or direct the electoral process outside their own countries.

The “Orange Revolution” in 2004 rotation of the “Euromaidan”, which later transformed into the “Revolution of Dignity” in 2014 –  is a direct proof of the power of the Ukrainian electorate itself. On the path of peaceful protests, the Ukrainians, in the first place, were able to carry out an honest election and replace the falsified ones, in the other, to launch systemic reforms to establish Ukraine as a democratic European state.

Fake: Ukrainian coup d’etat (Maidan) in 2014 was supported or organized by the West

The goals of the alleged “coup d’etat” in Ukraine are diverse: destabilizing the country, setting the population against Moscow, creating a convenient West “puppet” government. The coup was carried out by the United States, the European Union and NATO (together or separately), while the people themselves was opposed it.

• ““As for Ukraine, the West has bitten off more than it could have when the US CIA staged a coup in Kyiv in 2014 to overthrow President Viktor Yanukovych’s elected government and replace it with a US-friendly government.” (“ Was die Ukraine betrifft, so hat der Westen mehr abgebissen, als er kauen konnte, als der US-Geheimdienst Central Intelligence Agency 2014 in Kiew einen Staatsstreich inszenierte, um die gewählte Regierung von Präsident Viktor Janukowitsch zu stürzen und sie durch eine US-freundliche Regierung zu ersetzen”) — Uncut News

What is the truth?

First, the events of 2014 in Ukraine are not a coup d’etat. Allegations of a coup in central Kyiv are typical for the Kremlin’s rhetoric, which justifies its own aggression.

A coup d’etat is an unconstitutional seizure of power by a small group of individuals, conspirators acting in their own interests. The revolution of dignity began with peaceful protests by unarmed people in support of democratization, which the authorities tried to suppress by force, forcing them to use self-defense, and was massive. You can read more about why the Revolution of Dignity is not a coup d’etat in VoxCheck material “ Maidan in 2014 is a state coup: overview of Italian and German pro-Russian Media” .

Fake: The “coup” was arranged by Nuland, she is the creator of the “crisis in Ukraine”

Victoria Nuland is an American diplomat and politician, in 2014 she served as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. Pro-Russian media often refer to her as the central figure of the Maidan in 2014 and attribute to her the planning of a coup in Ukraine. The main evidence is a recording of a conversation between the diplomat and Jeffrey Payette, US Ambassador to Ukraine during that time.

• “Nuland was the driving force behind the uprising of 2014, which led to the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych’s government in Ukraine” (“ Nuland war die treibende Kraft hinter dem Aufstand von 2014, der die ukrainische Regierung von Viktor Janukowitsch in der Ukraine stürzte”) — Uncut News
• “The Deputy Secretary of State Nuland was exposed in a recorded interview posted on YouTube on February 4, 2014, as she planned a possible coup in Kyiv and elected a new prime minister two and a half weeks before the actual coup” (“ Die damalige stellenvertretende Außtellenvertretenin in einem aufgezeichneten Gespräch, das am 4. Februar 2014 auf YouTube veröffentlicht wurde, entlarvt, als sie den möglichen Putsch in Kiew plante und den neuen Premierminister zweieinhalb Wochen vor dem tatsächlichen Putsch ausgewählte”) — Uncut News

What is the truth?

Nuland did visit Kyiv many times in 2014, met with Yanukovych, opposition representatives and protesters. However, such actions are evidence of the performance of her duties, but not of participation or, moreover, the implementation of the “coup d’etat”.

The mentioned video was fabricated and also cannot be taken as an evidence. According to the Media Detector research , excerpts from various conversations on it were combined without observing the chronological time period, the dialogues were intertwined and interrupted in half-words without context. The conversations were private and were not allowed to be recorded in the first place.

Fake: Ukraine totally depends on the West

“Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the opposite is true of everything that Maidan’s foreign supporters have promised Ukrainians from rapprochement with the West. The country is not sovereign, but financially and politically completely dependent on the West. The Maidan gave the opposite of what was promised” (“Inzwischen herrscht in der Ukraine das Gegenteil von allem, was die ausländischen Unterstützer des Maidan den Ukrainern durch eine Annäherung an den Westen versprochen haben. Das Land ist nicht souverän, aber finanziell und politisch vollständigäng vom Westigen. Maidan hat das Gegenteil von dem gegeben, was versprochen wurde”) – RT.DE

What is the truth?

Ukraine, like many other countries, depends on relations with other states and international organizations. However, this is a mutually beneficial cooperation. For example, in cooperation with the IMF, Ukraine is carrying out economic reforms necessary for further development. VoxCheck wrote in detail about cooperation with the IMF in the article “International Monetary Fund: Evil Corporation or saving the economy in a crisis ?” .

Assistance provided by the European Union is aimed at developing the economy, public administration, civil society, promoting energy efficiency and protecting the environment in Ukraine. We have already refuted the myths of Russian propaganda about the Association of Ukraine with the EU – “Away from the European Union.” For the seventh year in a row, Russian disinformation has been demonizing the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU”.

Fake: The West wants to kill Ukrainian economy to remove competitors and avoid competition

In the German media you can see the thesis that cooperation with Russia has supported the Ukrainian economy, and Western countries are actually counting on its decline.

• “The only obstacle to Ukraine’s sudden disintegration has always been the desire of some of its leaders to maintain a level of pragmatic relations with Russia that would be mutually beneficial and help mitigate the fall of the former country. The Ukrainian people have always been able to rely on the Russian labor and export market, which has probably made life easier for many in these difficult times. From the West’s point of view, however, this was something that needed to be stopped as soon as possible in order to plunge Ukraine into a “free economic fall” (“Das Einzige, was dem plötzlichen Zusammenbruch der Ukraine im Wege stand, war immer der Wunsch einiger ihrer Führer, ein gewisses Maß an pragmatischen Beziehungen zu Russland aufrechtzuerhalten, die für beide Seiten von Vorteil waren und dazu beitrugen, den Sturz des erstgenannten Landes abzufedern. das Leben erleichtert hat Aus westlicher Sicht war dies jedoch etwas, das so schnell wie möglich gestoppt werden musste, um die Ukraine in den wirtschaftlichen freien Fall zu stürzen”) — Uncut News

What is the truth?

It is unlikely that those who are afraid of competition and want to destroy a competitor will invest in it, provide loans and simplify the terms of trade with them.

After Ukraine left the USSR and became an independent state, Western countries provided financial support to stabilize and develop its economy. Thus, since 1991, the United States has provided Ukraine with about $ 5 billion to solve current problems: liquidation of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident, anti-corruption measures, energy development, etc. Ukraine has received a total of $ 35 billion from the IMF over 30 years of independence. The purpose of raising funds is to stabilize the financial system and carry out structural reforms for economic growth.

In general, a similar narrative emerged when Ukraine ratified the Association Agreement with the EU in 2014. Russia did not like its economic part the most, aimed at improving trade conditions between Ukraine and EU countries, economic and sectoral cooperation. Its entry into force was even postponed until 2016 due to Russia’s claims that a significant increase in European supplies will displace Russian products from the Ukrainian market, and uncompetitive Ukrainian goods and illegal ones from the EU will seize the markets of the customs union.

At present, the EU has indeed become Ukraine’s main trading partner. According to the results of 2021, the share of trade in goods and services with the EU amounted to 39.0% of the total. The share of Russian exports is also declining every year: if in 2013 Russia accounted for 25.6% of all exports from Ukraine, in 2021 – 5%. The same goes for imports: in 9 years it has decreased by 20%. However, the reasons for this are not so much the liberalization of trade conditions with the EU as the established tariffs, quotas and sanctions.

But a significant economic blow to Ukraine has been inflicted and is being inflicted by Russian aggression. The country’s real GDP in 2014, when Russia attacked Ukraine, illegally annexed Crimea and started the war in the Donbas, fell by 6.5% and another 9.8% in 2015.

Fake: Ukraine has become an unofficial NATO military base

Conspiracy theories about NATO’s covert military bases in Ukraine, allegedly in preparation for an attack on Russia, have recently moved from “Russian propaganda” to “one of the official causes of Russia’s attack on Ukraine.”

• “NATO member states are systematically turning Ukraine into a “bridgehead” against Russia, building their bases there” (“Gli stati membri della NATO stanno sistematicamente trasformando l’Ucraina in una “testa di ponte” contro la Russia, costruendo lì le loro basi” ) – SNA.IT
• ““In 2014, after the coup, a new, more active phase of military research of Ukraine by the United States and its allies began. During this time, thanks to the efforts of Washington and Brussels, Ukraine has essentially become the main training ground for the bloc’s troops. The Alliance is gradually expanding Ukraine’s military infrastructure to meet its needs. Ochakovo and Berdyansk already have naval bases built to NATO standards with American taxpayers’ money. Although formally owned by the Ukrainian Navy, the actual owners are “handlers” from the United States. The same applies to the Ukrainian Army’s training ground in Yavoriv (Lviv Oblast), which has long been a “hidden” military base for NATO’s advanced military presence” (“Eine neue, aktivere Phase der militärischen Erkundung der Ukraine durch die Vereinigten und Vereinigten und Vereinigten Staaten und Vereinigten und Vereinigten , nach dem Staatsstreich. In dieser Zeit ist die Ukraine durch die Bemühungen Washingtons und Brüssels im Wesentlichen zu einem großen Übungsplatz für die Truppen des Blocks geworden. gibt es bereits Marinestützpunkte, die mit dem Geld der amerikanischen Steuerzahler nach NATO-Standards gebaut wurden Obwohl sie formell der ukrainischen Marine gehören, sind die eigentlichen Besitzer “Handler” aus den Vereinigten Staaten. (Region Lemberg), das sich längst zu einer “verdeckt en” Militärbasis der vorgeschobenen Militärpräsenz der NATO entwickelt hat”) — News Front

What is the truth?

The location of foreign military bases on the territory of Ukraine is prohibited in accordance with the provisions of Part 7 of Article 17 of the Constitution and Ukraine strictly adheres to this provision.

But there are indeed several training centers and training grounds in Ukraine. Thus, in Ochakovo, exercises of the “Sea Breeze” series were systematically conducted. By agreement, Ukraine provided military and civilian infrastructure of the Black Sea coast, and the United States supported training financially, providing assistance with machinery and equipment. The exercises were not conducted exclusively with NATO member states – both bloc members and other countries took part in them. Since 2015, the Canadian UNIFIER training mission has been stationed at the Yavoriv test site, the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security. One of the priority areas of this mission is the professional development of sergeants and officers of the Ukrainian army.

Training bases are not military bases, their participants are instructors who only train the Ukrainian military, the goal is to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities, not to prepare for offensive operations. Their presence on the territory of Ukraine has never been denied or hidden.

It is worth noting that on February 12, 2022, there were reports that NATO countries withdrew their military instructors from Ukraine and canceled the training of the Ukrainian military.

Fake: The West is fueling the war in Ukraine

Pro-Russian German media, following the beginning of the gathering of Russian troops near the borders of Ukraine under the guise of exercises, picked up the rhetoric of the Kremlin’s justifications. Allegedly, the United States and NATO are to blame for everything, and Russia is only reacting to provocations and there is no “armed aggression” on its part.

• “The United States is inciting Ukraine to war in the southeast. They are sending weapons and calling on NATO countries to lift restrictions on the supply of lethal weapons to Ukraine” (“ Die Ukraine wird von den USA zum Krieg im Südosten aufgehetzt. Sie schicken Waffen und fordern die NATO-Länder auf, die Beschränkungen für die Lieferung von Waff töd die Ukraine aufzuheben”) — Uncut News
• “The Pentagon is “ruling” Ukraine and preparing it for war with Russia. Recently, NATO member states, led by the United States, have increased their military presence in Ukraine and included the country in the Alliance’s various military programs. This process has been going on for some time and has always been of concern to the Russian Federation” (“In letzter Zeit haben die NATO-Mitgliedstaaten, allen voran die USA, ihre militärische Präsenz in der Ukraine ausgebaut und das Land in verschiedene Militär Programme des Bündnisses D einbezsesses schon seit geraumer Zeit und war für die Russische Föderation immer ein Grund zur Sorge”) — News Front
• Washington decides to push Ukraine into war against Russia, through agreements and the spread of a distorted narrative of Russian aggression and invasion — Control Informazione

What is the truth?

The activation of Ukraine’s cooperation with other countries in the military sphere was not the cause but the consequence of Russia’s very real armed aggression. No matter how much Russia justified its actions, in 2014 it was it that started the war in eastern Ukraine and occupied Crimea. It was Russia that systematically violated the Minsk agreements during the 8 years of the hybrid war.

NATO, in turn, has repeatedly stated that it will not send troops to Ukraine in the event of a Russian attack. All members of the Alliance confirmed at the Brussels Summit in June 2021 that “the Alliance does not seek confrontation and does not pose a threat to Russia.”

In January 2022, amid Russia’s disinformation about the border situation, the US Secretary of State’s Office issued a disproof, including on NATO’s plans. NATO did not surround Russia and did not plan to deploy Allied forces in the eastern part of the Alliance until Russia’s illegal occupation of Crimea. Multinational battle groups in the Baltic states and Poland were deployed in 2016 in response to Russia’s use of military force against its neighbors. These forces are rotational, defensive and proportional. NATO enlargement is not directed against Russia. Each sovereign state has the right to choose its own security mechanisms and to join regional defense alliances for self-defense. This is a fundamental principle of European security, reflected in the UN Charter, and one that Russia has reaffirmed in many international and regional instruments, such as the Helsinki Final Act.

Fake: The US has secret laboratories all over Ukraine

This narrative has existed for a relatively long time and from time to time returns to the topical background of thematic world and national events, such as the measles or coronavirus pandemic, or the use of biological and chemical weapons in the war with Russia.

• “The scandal with the relocation of American biological laboratories to Ukraine is not the first and, apparently, not the last. In 2018, “forgotten” American laboratories were mentioned due to an unprecedented one-year measles epidemic” (“Lo scandalo del dislocamento di laboratori biologici americani in Ukraine non è il primo e, apparentemente, non l’ultimo. Nel 2018, i laboratori americani “dimenticati” sono stati ricordati, in relazione a un’epidemia di morbillo senza precedenti della durata di un anno”) – Come Don Chisciotte

What is the truth?

There are no “secret” American laboratories in Ukraine. Instead, the US Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program, in which US and Ukrainian agencies are openly cooperating. The program itself is not aimed at developing biological weapons, but at studying methods of combating viruses. The purpose of all laboratories in Ukraine is the indication and identification of infectious agents that have significant epidemic potential and international significance and are subject to international health regulations.

VoxCheck has previously disproved the existence of such laboratories in Ukraine and considered the fake as part of monitoring Russian disinformation.