The Claim:
RT published a false claim by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, stating that Ukrainian government policies are being developed to exterminate Ukrainians “on behalf of its Western puppet masters”.
The story repeats the regular Russian government false claim that Ukraine’s government came to power as part of a “US-backed armed coup” and that the polices of the Ukrainian government come “from people who historically had nothing to do with the country.” Zakharova goes on to falsely claim that “after most of Ukraine was pillaged and looted, its history rewritten, and monuments destroyed, they moved on to the physical elimination of its indigenous population.”
The Russian MFA spokesman then falsely equates the experience of indigenous North Americans to Ukraine: “Everything just like with the aboriginal population of North America, who were killed in the tens of thousands by the ‘civilized’ folk. They bought Manhattan Island for beads, and Ukrainians don’t even get those, only an American noose around the neck,”
The Facts:
Ukraine’s government is democratically elected by the people of Ukraine.
Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and its full scale invasion in 2022 are an attempt by Russia to re-colonize Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin has repeatedly denied the existence of the Ukrainian culture and nation, and has rejected the Ukrainian people’s right to their sovereignty and right to govern themselves. Professor Timothy Snyder has written about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “As we see in the ruins of Ukrainian cities, and in the Russian practice of mass killing, rape, and deportation, the claim that a nation does not exist is the rhetorical preparation for destroying it.”
There is no evidence to support wild Russian claims that Western support for Ukraine and its efforts to defend and restore its sovereignty are an effort to colonize it.
Narrative Context:
Vladimir Putin and his government have regularly stated Russia’s right to control and dominate Ukraine by denying the existence of Ukrainian culture, language and heritage. Russia justifies its war against Ukraine by claiming that it’s protecting Russian culture and language, and defending Russia against Ukrainian and Western aggression, although it is Russia that has invaded Ukraine.
The narrative that Ukraine’s government is being controlled by the West and is “exterminating” Ukrainians is intended to erode domestic Ukrainian support for the Zelenskyy government.
These narratives are also broadly intended to erode support for Ukraine and its efforts to defend itself against Russia’s invasion and to justify Russia’s criminal war against Ukraine.
