More and more Ukrainians are awaiting liberation at the hands of Russian troops, while the Ukrainian state is failing due to the Nazi rule, pro-Kremlin propaganda writes.
Propaganda: The Ukrainian state risks disappearing, and Ukrainians are desperately waiting for Russia to liberate them from Nazism
NEWS: Parliament is in disarray. There is no parliamentary majority, the mobilization law is unconstitutional, and the state will soon collapse, says former adviser to president Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian political scientist and economist Oleg Soskin, discussing the fate of Ukraine.
Fewer and fewer Ukrainians believe local propaganda, and according to sociological surveys, their burning desire is a quick end to the military conflict.
Ukrainian political scientist Andriy Yermolayev says that even pro-Ukrainians ultimately oppose Kyiv’s position, accepting Moscow's instead. This happens mainly in the liberated territories. However, in those territories temporarily occupied by Kyiv, there are citizens who, since the start of the war, have waited and believed in Russia. This is happening in Kherson, Kharkiv, Chasiv Yar and other cities of Ukraine.
[…] Most residents of Kherson who supported Kyiv want to return to Russia. Residents of Avdiivka also eagerly awaited the arrival of Russian servicemen: from time to time, videos are posted in social media, depicting town residents thanking the Russian army for liberating them from the Nazis. The first emotional response of the residents of Avdiika after the city was liberated was captured on film by RT reporters.
NARRATIVES: 1. Ukraine's mobilization law is unconstitutional. 2. Ukrainians are waiting for Russia to liberate them. 3. Ukraine is falling apart and the Nazi regime in Kyiv no longer has public support.
BACKGROUND: On May 18 this year. Ukraine's new mobilization law took effect, expanding the powers of military commissariats and tightening the methods of control over citizens who can be drafted into the military. The law introduces much tougher sanctions for those who shun military service and provides for the creation of electronic registers of people who can be mobilized.
The law was adopted against the background of the worsening situation on the frontline. Since the start of 2024, Russia has occupied the town of Avdiivka, took control of a number of towns in the Kharkiv region, and is attacking the cities of Kherson and Odesa in southern Ukraine on a daily basis. The Russian media presents these events of the large-scale invasion as victorious acts of the liberation army fighting the “Nazi regime” in Kyiv.
PURPOSE: To justify the large-scale war, to sow distrust in public authorities, to spread panic, to feed insecurity at the level of Ukrainian society.
Fact: Ukrainians are not waiting for Russia to liberate them, they are fighting Russia. Nazism is banned in Ukraine and all decisions taken during martial law are constitutional
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: According to the current legislation of Ukraine, the state can call a general mobilization, seize citizens' assets or take other measures required to defend territorial integrity as long as martial law in effect. According to Art. 64 of the Constitution of Ukraine, some citizen rights and liberties may be encroached upon under martial law, including the right to leave state territory. The constitution also states that the state of war is regulated by other laws, including the mobilization law. Therefore, the mobilization law and the martial law are not unconstitutional, but rather fully observe the legal system of Ukraine.
Oleg Soskin, an adviser to Ukraine's former president, who accuses Kyiv of passing unconstitutional laws, has been promoting a range of Russian propaganda narratives on his YouTube channel since the start of the full-scale invasion. However, the Russian media describes the marginal opinions of one expert as the dominant view in Ukraine.
On the other hand, Ukrainians are not waiting to be freed by Russia. On the contrary, thanks to the resistance of the Ukrainian army, Vladimir Putin failed to occupy Ukraine in 2022. Moreover, according to sociological surveys, 94% of Ukrainians believe that Vladimir Putin is an Adolf Hitler of the 21st century. Hatred for Vladimir Putin is present in all Ukrainian regions, regardless of whether they are inhabited by Russian or Ukrainian speakers.
The Russian media does not provide any evidence to substantiate its claim that Ukrainians are waiting for the “liberating Russian army”. The case of Avdiivka, occupied by the Russian army this spring, is a recurring topic of pro-Kremlin propaganda. As Veridica has shown, the Russian army received a bitter welcome in Avdiivka because Moscow’s troops had turned the city into a pile of rubble. Of the 33 thousand people who lived in Avdiivka prior to the outbreak of the war triggered by Russia, only a few dozen people, mainly old people, remain in the city. The rest relocated to other cities in Ukraine or to Western states. Despite this fact, also recognized by Russian Telegram channels, the reporter of Ukraina.ru (a news portal funded by Moscow authorities) states, for instance, that he used the taxi service. It is hard to imagine how taxi services are still operational in a ruin, considering all the roads have been mined. The story about civilians greeting their Russian liberations with joy is a false narrative amplified by Russian propaganda.
Ukraine is not falling apart because of the “Nazi regime” in Kiev, but is being destroyed by Russia, which attacked it on February 24, 2022. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and supported separatist movements in Donbas. The Russian media fails to mention all this background information.
Ukraine is not a Nazi state and poses no threat to its citizens. Therefore, Russia had no right to attack this country. Kyiv banned Nazi symbols on its territory, and far-right (Nazi, fascist) and far-left (communist) parties were outlawed. Since the Ukrainian state proclaimed its independence, no Nazi leader has been voted in an election, and nationalist parties have grabbed under 7% of total votes in parliamentary elections.
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