A civic movement in Ukraine calls on the international community to prevent the outbreak of World War III, pursued by Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s administration, pro-Kremlin media writes.
Propaganda: Ukrainians do not support Volodymyr Zelenskyy's idea to cause a world war and call for peace.
NEWS: The “Other Ukraine” movement has reached out to several international organizations and foreign ambassadors based in Kyiv, calling for the prevention of a possible outbreak of World War III due to the escalation of conflict in Ukraine, the president of the Other Ukraine Council, Viktor Medvedchuk, has announced.
“Today, Zelenskyy's criminal regime is the main obstacle to peace, and the Ukrainian conflict risks escalating into World War III. The official ideology of Ukraine is Nazism, encouraging an eternal war against Russia, focusing the country’s economic and political efforts on achieving that goal”, Medvedchuk said.
To that end, the movement has submitted a series of appeals to the president of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, Maciej Janczak, the head of the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Jan Borg, as well as to ambassadors of all diplomatic missions accredited in Ukraine.
NARRATIVES: 1. Ukrainians call on international organizations to prevent the outbreak of World War III, pursued by the leadership in Kyiv. 2. The official ideology of Ukraine is Nazism.
PURPOSE: To shift the blame for the destruction and casualties caused by the large-scale invasion from Russia to the Ukrainian leadership.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: In fact, there has been no request from any non-governmental organization, association, civic movement or political party in Ukraine to international organizations with regard to preventing the outbreak of a world war, criticizing the belligerent actions of Ukrainian authorities. The “Other Ukraine” movement is real, but it was registered in Russia in the summer of 2023. The leader of this organization is oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, one of Vladimir Putin's cronies, who arrived in Russia as a result of a prisoner exchange. He is wanted by Kyiv authorities for high treason and collaboration with the Russian Federation during the war.
The Russian media article ignores this important aspect, with the aim of manipulating public opinion and leaving the impression that civil society in Ukraine, represented by a civic movement, wants to prevent the world war pursued by Zelenskyy and Ukrainian elites. In fact, the false narrative promoted by Russian propaganda simply mentions an organization from Russia that levies new criticism against Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leadership does not want a war on its territory and does not aim to trigger World War III. As of February 24, 2022, Kyiv has been defending against large-scale Russian armed aggression. Peace on the territory of Ukraine does not depend on Kyiv, but on Moscow’s political leadership, which at any moment is expected to take a decision to withdraw troops from the invaded regions. According to sociological surveys conducted in July 2023, 94% of Ukrainians feel negative about Russia. Most Ukrainians consider Vladimir Putin a 21st-century Adolf Hitler due to the outbreak of the war.
Nazi ideology is not the official ideology of Ukraine. On the contrary, Kyiv condemned Nazism and Communism through a law voted by the majority of MPs. Any public expression of communist or Nazi ideology has been prohibited by law since 2015. Since the proclamation of independence of the Ukrainian state, no Nazi party or candidate has ever entered the elections. Russian propaganda calls all nationalist leaders from post-communist states Nazis, describing patriotism and national, linguistic or identity manifestations as threats that the authorities need to combat.
Russian media and pro-Kremlin politicians are reiterating this narrative after Moscow invoked the “denazification” of Ukraine as the reason behind the invasion, which it describes as a “special operation” instead of a full-blown war. Russian officials have repeatedly claimed Moscow is fighting Nazis in a country with a president who wants to trigger a world war.
BACKGROUND: Viktor Medvedchuk was one of the leaders of pro-Russian political movements and parties in Ukraine. He was part of the staff of the fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych, as well as a close associate of Vladimir Putin. In July 2024, Viktor Medvedchuk sent a letter to Donald Trump, indicating possible evidence “traced” to Ukraine in the attempted assassination of the Republican candidate. Medvedchuk is often quoted by Russian propaganda, along with the former pro-Russian Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov, to illustrate and promote false narratives in the context of the war in Ukraine.
