A video shared online shows a protest action that took place on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv on October 1, 2019. The protesters were opposed to the then current policy of resolving the war in eastern Ukraine, namely, the implementation of the Minsk agreements under the Steinmeier formula.
A video is widely spread, which shows residents of Zhytomyr allegedly protesting against the current government. The posts say that the protesters are calling on other cities to also “Maidanize” against Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government. The video shows people in winter clothes with flags – the Crimean Tatar flag and the flag of Ukraine – chanting “Zelia [derogatory form of Zelenskyy’s surname] out!”
In fact, this information is not true.
To begin with, the video shows a rally in Kyiv, not Zhytomyr. Despite the poor quality of the video, it is easy to recognize the architectural ensemble of Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), and at the last second of the video, a part of the Independence Monument is clearly visible.
Due to the low quality of the video, a reverse Google search for the image did not yield a positive result. Nevertheless, StopFake journalists managed to find a similar video from 2019 in the Russian search engine Yandex using the keywords “Rally on Independence Square“. It shows protesters also chanting “Zelia out!” and the same signs and the arrangement of flags in the crowd indicate that both videos capture the same event.
The video shared by Russian propaganda shows a protest that took place on Independence Square on October 1, 2019.
The protesters were opposed to the then President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s policy of resolving the war in eastern Ukraine. The protesters considered the implementation of the Minsk Agreements based on the Steinmeier formula to be a surrender to Russia, which is why the series of protests was called “No to capitulation!”.
Recently, the Kremlin’s propaganda has intensified its information campaign, which aims to initiate internal tension and conflict within the country. Previously, StopFake journalists debunked similar reports in their materials: Fake: Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny Is Preparing a Military Coup and Fake: Agitation for Zaluzhnyi, A Presidential Candidate, Started in Schools.
