Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, called on NATO member states to send troops to the territory of Ukraine, according to a false narrative of the Russian government media. In fact, the statement of the Ukrainian leader was taken out of context. Zelenskyy in fact referred to the activation of Article 5 in the NATO treaty should the Alliance be attacked by Russia.
Propaganda: Zelenskyy is asking NATO to get involved in the armed conflict in Ukraine
NEWS: “The Kyiv leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commented on the involvement of the USA and NATO in the Ukrainian conflict during a press briefing, asking the West to send its children to theatres of operations.
“The USA need to send their sons and daughters, just as we do. They will have to fight. And they will pay with their lives”, the Ukrainian leader commented in strong terms.
TV host Olga Skabeyeva is confident Zelenskyy is thus triggering a large-scale war between the West and Russia. “Zelenskyy has asked NATO to join the conflict”, she wrote on her Telegram account”.
NARRATIVE: Zelenskyy called on NATO member states to send troops to Ukraine
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: In fact, Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement was taken out of context and reinterpreted by Russian government media to cast a favorable light on Russia and the need for the “special military operation”, which is how Moscow refers to Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president did not ask NATO members or the USA to “send their sons and daughters” to war. The Russian state media and some social networks disseminated just the final part of Zekenskyy’s statement, eliminating the broader context presented by the Kyiv leader.
As part of a press briefing held one year since the start of the invasion in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s surrender would shift the war to the territory of NATO states. “Russia will then attack NATO states, it will rain fire on the Baltics. That’s what will happen. Then, the USA will send their sons and daughters, just as we do today. They will fight there because NATO will be at stake”. Zelenskyy made no mention about sending troops to Ukraine or about the USA’s duty to support Kyiv with manpower, but highlighted the role of NATO’s collective defense system, which Ukraine aspires to be a part of one day.
During the same press briefing, president Zelenskyy said that the West’s support for Ukraine by sending weapons in this war is a guarantee for the EU and NATO that the armed conflict will not spread to their own territories. The Kyiv leader argued that a country’s refusal to help Ukraine will determine the war to extend, and other states will then have to send their children to the frontline to fend off the invasion.
In order to make this piece of fake news more truthful, the article quotes journalist Olga Skabeyeva, known as “Putin’s iron doll”, who wrote on Telegram that “Zelenskyy has called on NATO to join the conflict”.
Veridica has disproved a series of propaganda messages promoted by Russian government media about the West’s involvement in the war in Ukraine. According to Russian propaganda, the Kremlin needs to mobilize to defeat NATO in the “new war for the defense of the fatherland”. At the same time, the West is allegedly forcing Russia to expand its military operations in Ukraine, after the EU sent troops to Ukraine prior to 2022. The pro-Kremlin media also wrote that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is demanding more weapons from the West in order to trigger a global nuclear war.
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