Twitter CEO Elon Musk calls 2014 regime change in Ukraine a 'coup'

Twitter CEO Elon Musk claimed that Ukraine “indeed” witnessed a coup d’etat in 2014 after the country saw a major change in the government in 2014. On Saturday, a Twitter user shared an article by Prof.John J. Mearsheimer, titled “Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault”. In the tweet, the Twitter user quoted one of the excerpts from the article in which Mearsheimer asserted that the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, was right to call the illegal overthrow of a democratically elected, pro-Russian President a “coup”. The American political scientist made these assertions back in 2014 when Russia decided to annex the Crimean Peninsula. Musk has been vocal about the Russia-Ukraine conflict since the war began. From providing Starlink to Ukraine to proposing a peace plan in the war, Musk has done it all. 

On Saturday, the Twitter user quoted Mearsheimer and wrote, “For Putin, the illegal overthrow of Ukraine's democratically elected and pro-Russian president— which he rightly labelled a "coup"— was the final straw." Musk agreed with the sentiments of Mearsheimer and responded saying, “That election was arguably dodgy, but no question that there was indeed a coup".

In 2013 protests broke out in Ukraine after the authorities halted legislation aimed at the integration of the country with the European Union. The public unrest eventually led to the removal of then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The former President and the former governor of Donetsk Oblast, Yanukovych, was known for his pro-Russian stance.

"For Putin, the illegal overthrow of Ukraine's democratically elected and pro-Russian president— which he rightly labeled a "coup"— was the final straw."

-Prof. John Mearsheimer (2014) pic.twitter.com/mLpnLzpWla

— kanekoa.substack.com (@KanekoaTheGreat)

Yanukovych's removal and the annexation of Crimea

After the major public unrest in the eastern European nations and the constant lobbying by the EU diplomats, Yanukovych was removed from the office of the President on February 22, 2014. The Ukrainian government body Verkhovna Rada voted him out on the grounds that he was unable to fulfil his decision to hold early presidential elections in the country. During his time, the former Ukrainian President had a cordial relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Under his reign, Moscow provided financial assistance to Ukraine and invested in several infrastructure projects. The political instability in Ukraine enabled Russia to annex the Crimean Peninsula, which remains one of the major sites of conflict between Russia and Ukraine.