Manipulation: Zelensky portrayed as the perpetrator of the war in Ukraine

The entire post is manipulative and aims to portray Ukraine, i.e. Zelensky and the European Union, as guilty of the war. This disinformation narrative is a well-known pro-Kremlin narrative and is not new. Russia constantly twists the theses, wanting to justify its “special military operation.” Ukrainian President Zelensky is the Kremlin’s most important disinformation target. He is constantly accused of being a puppet in the hands of Western powers, of dragging Ukraine into war, and so on. The fact is that Zelensky is forced to defend himself from Russian aggression, with the help of NATO and the EU

 

 

We analyze a Facebook post that says:

Trump is absolutely right—”Zelensky is gambling with the lives of Ukrainians.”

This is a tragedy, these are the graves of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. 

This is what Ursula and the others who support the war in Ukraine want. They should be held accountable for crimes of unprecedented proportions. The poor are dying heroically, while they are laughing and taking pictures with Zelensky.

The post aims to manipulate the public and portray Zelensky and Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, as being to blame for the war. However, the facts suggest otherwise. It is true that at the meeting at the White House, the American president told his Ukrainian colleague he was gambling with the lives of millions of people (not just Ukrainians, as the post claims) and that he was gambling with World War III. (In the video, these words of Trump can be heard from 5:00 to 5:15).

However, Zelensky is not the one who started the war and therefore cannot be blamed for the casualties, which exist on both the Russian and the Ukrainian side.

The claim that Zelensky, together with the EU, that is, Western countries, dragged Ukraine into war is therefore false and manipulative, and reminiscent of the Kremlin’s frequent disinformation narratives.

On February 24, 2022, Russian troops launched an attack on Ukraine ordered by President Vladimir Putin, who announced a “special military operation” in the early hours of the morning, despite warnings from world leaders that the move could lead to the largest war in Europe since 1945.

The scope of the Russian attack was a massive hail of missiles poured onto Ukrainian cities, while Russian ground troops entered Ukrainian territory en masse from multiple directions. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said that the country was the target of an attack by cruise and ballistic missiles, with infrastructure near major cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol, etc. being particularly targeted, Deutsche Welle reported at the time.

The attack was preceded by the decision of the Russian president on February 21, 2022, to recognize the independence of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, which have been under the control of pro-Russian separatists since 2014. This decision allowed Putin to directly send Russian military units into Eastern Ukraine, where sporadic clashes between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists were already underway.

Since the beginning of Russia’s aggressive military invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s propaganda has repeatedly tried to twist the theses, that is, to impose a series of justifications for its attacks. The truth is that it was Russia that carried out an unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. To expect Ukraine to sit idly by would mean that the citizens of Ukraine agree to be occupied and territorially taken over by Russia, which did not happen. Ukraine, as an independent state with territorial integrity and sovereignty, has the right to defend itself and use the available means of assistance from its friends. If it does not do so, then it would face even greater territorial claims from Russia.

Ukrainian President Zelensky is the most important disinformation target of the Kremlin. He is constantly accused of being a puppet in the hands of the Western forces, of dragging Ukraine into war, and so on. The fact is that Zelensky is forced to defend himself from Russian aggression, with the help of NATO and the EU.

The other manipulation contained in the post is that the EU wants a war in Ukraine, emphasizing that “Ursula von der Leyen has committed crimes of unprecedented proportions.” It is not true that the European Union supports the war in Ukraine and that it is cheering for there to be a war. It is also absolutely false that Von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has committed any crimes of unprecedented proportions. If she has done so, she would be held accountable for them, but there is no such thing.

The EU provides military and financial assistance to Ukraine, which has the right to defend itself from Russian military invasion and protect its territorial integrity.

The EU and its member states are united in their unwavering support for Ukraine and firmly condemn Russia’s brutal military aggression against Ukraine and the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson.

Since February 2022, the European Council and the Council of the European Union have been meeting regularly to discuss the situation in Ukraine from different perspectives.

Russia must stop its atrocious war immediately. The European Union will stand by Ukraine with steadfast support for as long as it takes, concludes the European Council on February 9, 2023.

EU leaders have repeatedly called on Russia to immediately cease its military actions, unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from Ukraine, and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence. They stressed Ukraine’s right to choose its own destiny and praised the people of Ukraine for their courage in defending their country.

The EU has shown unity and strength and provided Ukraine with humanitarian, political, financial, and military support.

Finally, the third manipulation in the post is that “the poor are dying heroically,” while European leaders are taking pictures smiling with Zelensky. Firstly, general mobilization has been declared in Ukraine, which means that all men aged 25 to 60 are mobilized for war, regardless of whether they are poor or rich. The decree of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on general mobilization has been in effect since February 24, 2022.

Unlike in Ukraine, such a thing does not exist in Russia. As CNA, an independent, non-profit research and analysis organization dedicated to the nation’s security and safety, points out, Russia’s military reversals in Ukraine resulted in massive losses of Russian combat personnel, which drove the Kremlin to pursue a wide range of mobilization activities to replenish Russian combat forces in Ukraine. These included recruiting additional contract soldiers, expanding private military contractors, forming regional volunteer battalions, deploying Chechen militias, forcibly mobilizing Ukrainian separatists in the Donbas region, and—most important—activating Russian reservists. Therefore, in Russia, (not in Ukraine) there is the option of enlisting in the military on a voluntary basis for money, which can mean “dying of the poor.”

The entire post is manipulative and aims to portray Ukraine, i.e. Zelensky and the European Union, as guilty of the war. This disinformation narrative is a well-known pro-Kremlin narrative and is not new. Russia constantly twists the theses, wanting to justify its “special military operation.” Ukrainian President Zelensky is the Kremlin’s most important disinformation target. He is constantly accused of being a puppet in the hands of Western powers, of dragging Ukraine into war, and so on. The fact is that Zelensky is forced to defend himself from Russian aggression, with the help of NATO and the EU.

Due to the aforementioned, we assess the analyzed post as untrue.

 

 

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