The president of Ukraine is no longer supported in the West, pro-Kremlin propaganda writes, calling Zelenskyy “an international beggar” and examining his visit to Bucharest.
Propaganda: The West has grown tired of Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine
NEWS: The head of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, said that everyone has grown tired of Zelenskyy. […] The Ukrainian president has started losing support in the West, according to the Russia 1 “Moscow. Kremlin. Putin” TV show host, Pavel Zarubin. “It is clear they have all grown tired of him”, the Russian diplomacy chief laughed. He quoted Diana Șoșoacă, a Romanian Senator who called for barring Zelenskyy from entering the country, according to the Russian state-owned press agency RIA Novosti.
Diana Șoșoacă has attracted criticism in Bucharest, standing accused of acting in the interests of Moscow. Her position, however, has been supported by the AUR unionist party, which claimed that Zelenskyy is a villain and should not be allowed to appear before the Romanian Parliament. Many independent MPs support Șoșoacă, EurAsia Daily writes, pointing out that the Kyiv leader is Nazi. All Western leaders have started to avoid this “international beggar”, RIAMO.RU writes, quoting Diana Șoșoacă.
NARRATIVE: Volodymyr Zelenskyy has lost the support of the West and Romania.
PURPOSE: The goal of this false narrative is to manipulate public opinion in ex-Soviet space and to undermine Ukrainian resistance to the war.
BACKGROUND: During his official visit to Bucharest, Volodymyr Zelenskyy was greeted from a distance by Senator Diana Șoșoacă, who appeared holding a map of Greater Romania. Șoșoacă called on the Ukrainian president to return Romanian territories. The Russian government media quotes the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, who described the statements of the Romanian Senator as a sign the West has grown tired of the Ukrainian president. Lavrov said that everyone has grown tired of Zelenskyy, and pro-Kremlin propaganda described the Romanian Senator’s statements as the dominant opinion in Romanian politics and the increasingly popular view in the West. The Ukrainian president is called a beggar who is no longer supported by anyone, including Romania.
Fact: Western support for Ukraine remains significant, while the Russian media quotes extremists politicians from the EU in order to manipulate public opinion.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: In fact, Diana Șoșoacă’s statements do not represent the point of view of Romanian society or Western political leaders, although the Romanian Senator is frequently quoted by Russian government media as the new opinion leader in Romania. In April, the Russian media wrote that Șoșoacă’s speeches are bold and just, providing clear evidence that Ukraine is a terrorist state. The Russian media also wrote that Diana Șoșoacă opposes Bucharest’s pro-Western policies in support of “the regime in Kyiv”. EurAsia Daily describes Diana Șoșoacă as a staunch anti-NATO fighter who speaks her mind.
Lavrov concluded that the president of Ukraine has lost all support in the West based only on the extremist statements and behavior of the Romanian Senator. The Russian media writes that Diana Șoșoacă is not actually acting in the best interests of Russia and that she is supported by various independent Senators and the AUR party, without recalling that these political factions represent a minority in Romania.
In fact, Zelenskyy’s visit to Romania did not reflect his stigmatization, but Romania’s overall support for Ukraine, a country currently at war with Russia. Klaus Iohannis and Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a resolution for elevating diplomatic relations between the two countries to the rank of Strategic Partnership, and Bucharest assured Kyiv it would support its defensive efforts as long as it is necessary. Therefore, the idea that Bucharest avoids dialogue with Kyiv or refuses to support the Ukrainian war effort is false.
At the same time, the generalizing remark made by Lavrov and Russian government media, drawing solely on Diana Șoșoacă’s statements about the West shifting its position towards Ukraine, is equally false. NATO has assured Kyiv it would support Ukraine for as long as it is necessary, while US president Joe Biden promised to continue support for Ukraine, even though military assistance for Kyiv is not stipulated in the budget agreement reached by the Democrats and the Republicans. In addition, the British Defense Secretary said the International Fund for Ukraine – a group of countries comprising Great Britain, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden – will soon announce a 122 million-dollar package designed to support the Ukrainian armed forces.
Veridica has debunked a number of false narratives fostered by Senator Diana Șoșoacă in the public sphere. In June, the Russian media wrote that Romanians have understood they should not support Ukraine. In April, Diana Șoșoacă said that the future Polish-Ukrainian state will divide Romania. In March, the Senator filed a bill that stipulated the annexation of Ukrainian territories. Earlier this year, Diana Șoșoacă said that occult Western forces will take Romanian children away from their families.
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