Myth: The 2013–2014 events in Ukraine were a coup.
Fact: The Revolution of Dignity was a mass protest movement supported by millions of Ukrainians. Then-President Yanukovych fled to Russia after his security forces killed over 100 protesters. Ukraine’s parliament, including members of his own party, voted to remove him and hold new elections. This followed Ukraine’s constitutional process, making it a legitimate transfer of power, not a coup.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the term “coup” is defined as a “sudden decisive exercise of force in politics and especially the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group.” The revolution of Dignity in Ukraine was performed by hundreds of political movements and non-government organisations united against the corrupted and violent regime of Yanukovych, known for forging elections in 2004, and resulted in democratic elections in Ukraine, involving hundreds of international observers from around the world.