Volodymyr Zelensky is militarizing the country and turning it into a concentration camp, claims a pro-Russian former prime minister quoted by the propaganda media.
NEWS: Zelensky is opting for further military action and the militarization of the country, following a path associated with Nazism, an ideology that has existed in Ukraine for some time. But from now on the situation will get significantly worse, former premier Nikolai Azarov writes.
The country has turned into a concentration camp. Imagine that it is impossible to leave the country, you just can't leave. At the border, you risk being shot and nobody will answer for it. Moreover, you can be picked up off the street, beaten up, shoved into a car and sent to the front. Or simply killed without anyone being held accountable.
This is the current reality of Ukraine. Can this situation be compared with the period when I was in power, for example, from 2010 to early 2014? I ask objectively. Probably not.
NARRATIVES: 1. Ukraine has turned into a concentration camp under Zelensky. 2. The Ukrainian regime practices Nazism and militarism. 3. Ukrainian citizens are killed for trying to leave the country; 4. Mobilization equals Nazi crimes. 5. The period of Azarov's rule was free and democratic.
PURPOSE: to delegitimize the Ukrainian government by comparing it to totalitarian regimes; to justify the Russian invasion by presenting Ukraine as a terrorist state; to rehabilitate the image of the pro-Russian Yanukovych regime; to demoralize the Ukrainian population.
Reality: the mobilization is legal and imposed by Russia's war of aggression
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: The Nazi camps, mentioned by Azarov, were intended to systematically exterminate Jews, Roma and other ethnic groups through planned genocide. Ukraine's wartime travel restrictions serve solely for self-defense against the Russian aggression and comply with the international standards regarding the states facing an armed conflict.
The military mobilization in Ukraine follows the legal procedures established by the Ukrainian Constitution and complies with international norms applicable to states that are under military aggression. Under the Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I , states have the right to mobilize forces in self-defense when their sovereignty is threatened. This practice was used by all Western democracies during World War II, including Britain, the United States and France, without anyone accusing them of Nazism.
The allegations about executions at the border and kidnappings on the streets are aimed at creating panic and undermining public morale. Cases of abuses, which can occur in any legal system, do not characterize the official Ukrainian state policy. Although there have been documented cases of abuse or forced recruitment in certain situations, they do not represent the general norm of mobilization and do not indicate a transformation of the country into a "concentration camp". The real context is that of a state under military aggression exercising its right to self-defense through exceptional measures.
The period of the Azarov government (2010-2014) cannot be considered a model of freedom and democracy. This pro-Russian regime was marked by massive corruption, repression against the opposition and serious human rights violations. The 2013-2014 Revolution of Dignity (Euromaidan) broke out precisely against the authoritarianism of the Yanukovych-Azarov regime, when more than 100 peaceful demonstrators were killed by security forces. The comparison with the current period ignores the fact that Ukraine is going through a war of national survival, not a period of peace and stability.
From a historical perspective, temporary restrictions on the freedom of movement during armed conflicts are an accepted practice. Britain instituted similar measures during the Second World War, including a ban on emigration for able-bodied men. Israel continues to practice compulsory mobilization in the context of security threats. Neither of these democracies has been accused of becoming a "concentration camp".
The logic of the pro-Kremlin propaganda is based on the reversal of causality: Russia attacks Ukraine and then accuses the victim of militarism for defending itself. This tactic resembles the Nazi strategy of 1939, when Germany accused Poland of provocations before the September invasion. The aggressor tries to shift responsibility onto the victim, presenting their criminal actions as a response to the "threat" posed by the resistance of the attacked country.
Russian propaganda hypocrisy
Russia itself is practicing exactly what it blames Ukraine for, but to an incomparably worse degree. In September 2022, the Putin regime instituted "partial mobilization" and recruited hundreds of thousands of Russians without adequate training. Russian men have fled the country to avoid mobilization. Unlike Ukraine, which mobilizes men to defend itself, Russia does so with the aim of invading a neighboring state.
In addition, Russia is forcibly deporting Ukrainian children. More than 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly taken from the occupied territories to Russia for "re-education". This practice resembles the Nazi policies of forced Germanization of children in the occupied territories and constitutes a planned cultural genocide.
Ukrainian reality versus Russian propaganda
Ukrainian civil society continues to function, independent media report freely on domestic issues (including corruption at the national level), and the political opposition expresses its critical stance towards the government. International organizations confirm that despite the restrictions imposed by the war, Ukraine's democratic institutions continue to function. Ukraine's civilian volunteerism has reached impressive dimensions, with millions of citizens contributing to the war effort with donations, humanitarian assistance and support for the army.
Although, as in many other countries, far-right, even neo-Nazi groups exist in Ukraine, they have marginal political influence and are not representative of the Ukrainian government or Ukrainian society as a whole. Moreover, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is of Jewish descent, which blatantly contradicts the idea of a Nazi state. Electoral support for far-right parties in Ukraine has been consistently below 3% in national elections , much lower than in many other democracies around the world. Moreover, Nazi and communist ideologies were banned by law in 2015.
CONTEXT: Nikolai Azarov regularly posts pro-Russian propaganda messages on his Telegram channel, seeking to demoralize the Ukrainian resistance and justify the invasion. As Ukraine's former prime minister between 2010-2014 under the pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych, Azarov was complicit in the bloody crackdown on Maidan protesters and fled to Russia after the Revolution of Dignity. His government was marked by massive corruption, subservience to Russian interests and increasing authoritarianism, culminating in the killing of over 100 peaceful protesters in February 2014. Azarov's position perfectly illustrates the phenomenon of political collaborationism: a former Ukrainian official who, after his domestic political failure, allied himself with the external aggressor against his own country. This trajectory resembles that of the collaborationists of World War II, who justified the Nazi occupation by accusing their own governments of authoritarianism.
