Category Hatred and bigotry

Russia’s Eliminationist Rhetoric Against Ukraine: A Collection

Dating at least to 2008 or 2009, increasingly hostile language laid the groundwork for rejecting Ukraine’s existence as a state, a national group, and a culture.

What follows is a compilation of publicly available statements (readers are invited to submit by email any that we may have missed).

Experts such as Francine Hirsch, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of “Soviet Judgment at Nuremberg,” have pointed to such language as evidence of genocidal intent toward the Ukrainian people. Whether and how the concept of “genocide” applies to Russia’s campaign against Ukraine is the subject of debate, notwithstanding the reference in Article II of the Genocide Convention to “the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such.”

Read MoreRussia’s Eliminationist Rhetoric Against Ukraine: A Collection

Fake: Ukraine Secretly Transplants Soldiers’ Organs

Ukrainian legislation has prohibited organ transplants of servicemen who
died during hostilities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since 2019. A
new draft law under review is designed to clarify previously adopted norms,
broadening the ban on organ removal from servicemen who died in the line of
duty anywhere in Ukraine, where hostilities are taking place.

Read MoreFake: Ukraine Secretly Transplants Soldiers’ Organs

Fake: Olena Zelenska Received an Israeli Citizen Passport

The document circulating online is fake. This is evidenced by the many errors in the so-called passport, in particular, the misspelled Hebrew name, surname, nationality and birth place of Olena Zelenska, as well as the validity period of the document.

Read MoreFake: Olena Zelenska Received an Israeli Citizen Passport

When Russian propaganda mimics French news to spread disinformation – Truth or Fake

For several months, at least six fake anti-Ukraine covers of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo have been circulating online, especially on Russian Telegram channels. Now a fake news report, attributed to French media outlet 20 Minutes, falsely accuses Russian independent journalist Ilya Ber of being behind these Charlie Hebdo covers. We debunk this false news report in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Read MoreWhen Russian propaganda mimics French news to spread disinformation – Truth or Fake

Manipulation: Ukrainian Intelligence Chief Budanov Calls to Kill All Russians

The Ukrainian Intelligence Chief of the Defense Ministry did not call to kill all Russians. In his interviews, Kyrylo Budanov emphasized that anyone who committed war crimes in Ukraine will be found and liquidated in any part of the world. He never called for killing Russians on national grounds, as the Russian media reported. Such narratives are another Russian propagandist attempt to present Ukraine as a country of flourishing Nazism.

Read MoreManipulation: Ukrainian Intelligence Chief Budanov Calls to Kill All Russians