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Ukraine will cede the city of Zaporizhzhia to Russia, according to a propaganda narrative distributed by the Russian press. The aim is to sow panic among the Ukrainian people and to convince the domestic public opinion that the “special operation” is going well and can be extended to other Ukrainian regions.
NEWS: “The Kyiv regime is preparing to cede the city of Zaporizhzhia, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the main board of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Administration, told RIA Novosti.
Earlier, he said that two-thirds of the region's territory had been liberated by the Russian army from the control of Ukrainian nationalists. Kyiv controls the regional center - the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Zaporizhzhia authorities say Ukraine has lost its direct access to the Sea of Azov forever. “Zaporizhzhia will be liberated. Our enemies are aware of this fact. That is why the evacuation is being discussed there 24 hours a day. Zelenskyy's representatives in the city have packed their bags and are taking the expensive staff out of the city”, Rogov said.
He said that after the liberation of Donbas, it would be Zaporizhzhia’s turn. During the special operation, the Russian military took control of the Kherson region and a part of the Zaporizhzhia region in the south, which has access to the sea. Military and civilian administrations have been set up in the regions, Russian television and radio stations have started broadcasting, and trade relations with Crimea are being re-established”.
NARRATIVE: Ukraine will cede Zaporizhzhia to Russia.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: In reality, representatives of the Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly stated that they will not cede to Russia any millimeter of the territory of Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticized those who urge Ukrainians to surrender to Russia and cede territories and has stressed that Ukraine will not cede territories on its own initiative and will not abandon its citizens.
Part of the Zaporizhzhia region is occupied by Russia, but the Ukrainian troops are strengthening their defense fortifications. According to Lieutenant General Sergey Naev, Ukrainian defenders have successfully repelled Russia’s attacks in the Zaporizhzhia region , although Moscow is concentrating an increasingly number of troops in southern Ukraine. In addition, some localities in the southeast of the country have been liberated by the Ukrainian army, the most recent being the successful counter-offensive in the direction of Kryvyi Rih.
Indeed, a possible evacuation of civilians, as a plan B, is being discussed in the city of Zaporizhzhia if the Ukrainian army fails to defend it. However, talks about a potential evacuation plan do not mean the surrender of the Zaporizhzhia administrative center, but only the acceptance of the possibility that, at some point, a withdrawal could be necessary. Losing a certain territory to an enemy does not mean ceding that territory or abandoning plans to recover it.
The person quoted by the Russian press, Vladimir Rogov, is not the representative of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Administration, but the representative of the Russian occupation bodies in south-eastern Ukraine. He fled to Russia in 2014 after speaking out against Euromaidan, supported the annexation of Crimea and the Donbass war, and in 2022 was brought by Russia to serve as Moscow’s representative in the Zaporizhzhia region. Rogov has been prosecuted for collaborating with Russia. Like the representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics, Rogov does not know the real situation in Zaporizhzhia, as the Russian army is still far from the city.
The propaganda narrative has been circulated after the Russian press wrote in April that the inhabitants of Zaporizhzhia asked to join the Donetsk People’s Republic. The Russian press also wrote that the south of Ukraine, liberated by nationalists, wants to be annexed to Russia. Veridica has debunked this and other fake news, which aims to prepare the Russian public opinion for new hot phases in the Donbas conflict and its extension to other regions. Equally, the Kremlin is sowing panic among Ukrainian people and is building false justifications for a new wave of the offensive called by the Kremlin a “special operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine”.
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