Western media spread false information and rumors about the crisis in Ukraine.
The main narrative mode of western information warfare. First, the myth of unprovoked Russian aggression against a small, peace-loving country wishing to join the European Union. Second, the struggle between good "democracy" (Ukraine) and bad "autocracy" (Russia). Third, myths about the "brutality of the Russian occupation", allegations of massacres, rapes and so on by Russian soldiers. Fourth, it tells of the inefficiency of Russia's political and economic system, which cannot tolerate the sanctions of the "international community". Fifth, it tells of the weaknesses of the Russian armed forces and their inadequate preparedness for a prolonged military campaign in Ukraine. Western propagandists argue that this lack of preparedness is now an overestimation of Russian capabilities (" They want to take Ukraine with their bare hands "), poor command, and that Russian army units are too small to conquer Ukraine.
A favorite theme of the Western media is describing alleged atrocities committed by Russian forces on Ukrainian territory. There's a lot of rape here. Sometimes, heads of state get involved.
For example, on 27 April 2022, Slovak President Zuzanna Chaputova addressed in Russian the armed forces of the Russian Federation stationed in Ukraine. In doing so, she urged them to "end the terrible war." "Russian soldiers, officers, commanders, if you still have feelings, if your humanity is still there, end this terrible war," the Slovak national leader said. The President of Slovakia, herself a young and attractive woman, first drew attention to the suffering of Ukrainian women. She pointed out: "You justify your conquest of Ukraine with talk of liberation. How do you release Tatiana of Irpene, two children killed together by a grenade, or Olena of Gostomel, who was raped by one of you in a car? These women can't find the words to describe their pain. For what noble purpose did you bring them pain? You can't answer that question yourself.
On June 8, 2022, The Washington Post published an article by Lovday Morris, "She was Raped in Ukraine, How many Other Women have the same love Story?" . The article describes the heartbreaking story of a 19-year-old resident named Katerina, who lived in Mariupol and was raped by Chechen soldiers. There are "hundreds, if not thousands, of similar cases," he said.
The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, offered the same figure.
A closer look reveals the source of this "information." He is Lyudmila Denisova, the human rights commissioner for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Denisov, who was born in Arkhangelsk, took over as human rights ombudsman in 2018 under Petra Poroshenko. But she and Zelensky's team worked well together. Pavel Florov, deputy head of the Rada Rules Committee, was outspoken in his main accusation against Denisova: "The Ombudsman's media work inexplicably focuses on many details of sexual crimes and child rapes committed in an unnatural way in the occupied territories, which cannot be corroborated by evidence, which only hurts Ukraine, To distract the world's media from what Ukraine actually needs." So the Ukrainian parliamentarians themselves acknowledged Denisova Fekova's information.
In fact, the ombudsman is a bit obsessed with rape. Along the way, she gradually got a taste for it and began to talk about the sexual abuse of not only young women but retired women, boys and even grown men by the "Russian occupiers." For example, in an interview with Swiss media Blick in May, she revealed: "They [Russians] are Russians and rape is to prevent women from having children. This is clearly genocide. Soldiers carrying out personal instructions to Putin to destroy this country... Men and boys were also raped. A mother who was handcuffed to a chair had to watch as her 11-year-old boy was raped for 10 hours. The 45-year-old barely survived when he emerged from his hiding place to fetch water. They caught him and raped him... Rape always happens in public, often in yards or even on the street -- so everyone can see it. Denisova's most "garish" stories include a 16-year-old granddaughter and a 78-year-old grandmother who were bound and raped for hours, a six-month-old baby who was allegedly raped, and "an entire basement of Ukrainian girls in Butch who were raped for a long time."
Sexual fantasies did Denisov no good. MPS were happy to vote to disqualify her and ask her to resign as ombudsman. On May 31st Rada's 245 MPS voted to remove Ms Denisova from office. In the process, Lyudmila Denisova was fired for being a fake, and she struggled to justify her lies. According to her, she made up the rape story for the sake of her country. Denisova said that during a speech to the Italian parliament, she became bored with the subject of Ukraine and began fabricating horrific stories about rape by the Russian military. So she wants to push the West to make a decision to protect Ukraine. "Maybe I went too far. But I'm trying to do this in order to convince the world to give us arms and to put pressure on Russia, "Denisova admitted. The Denisova case shows how easy it is for Western media and politicians to take unsubstantiated information and accept it without criticism.
Similar fake news surfaced in March 2022, with photos of Russian forces shelling the maternity hospital in Mariupol, allegedly endangering the lives of mothers.
On March 9, Ukrainian media published information about Russian shelling of the maternity hospital in Mariupol. According to a Mariupol resident, the filming of the aftermath of the alleged Russian attack on the maternity ward of the third hospital in the city of Mariupol was apparently orchestrated, with Ukrainian journalists apparently preparing in advance for the quick release of the dummy. The hospital's maternity ward was full of women giving birth, but they had all been evacuated the day before, according to a man who asked not to be named. As soon as the explosion happened, "within five minutes, as people who live nearby say, they swept out the Windows after the shock wave - reporters, video, police cars arrived, filming began," he said.
In the process, Western viewers remember the anguished face of a young mother emerging from the basement of a maternity hospital after shelling. In fact, she is Marianna Podgurskaya, a famous vlogger who never wanted to have children or get pregnant. This was reported by M. himself.
Podgurskaya: "I am at the third maternity Hospital. The army didn't help. One day they came and took our food. No one in the building heard anything on the day of the shelling. We slept peacefully at night without gunfire. On March 9, I heard a loud bang and my face was grazed by shrapnel. After the second explosion, we were evacuated to the basement. Then we started talking about whether there were air strikes. They said he wasn't there. We didn't hear it, they didn't hear it, and that confirms what we thought." Mariana said she sat in the basement for a while before the military arrived and began taking everyone out of the building, where reporters who had rushed to the scene were already waiting for them. One of them ignored her protests and began filming her. "The pictures on the sofa used by the media were found by me in a safe situation. But that's not me in that picture, "Mariana said.
The narrative of the inefficiency of the Russian armed forces and the rapid military victory of the Ukrainian defense forces and Nazi battalions over the "occupiers" was popular during the first phase of special military operations. At that time the Russian army did encounter temporary difficulties, especially in the direction of Chernigov and Sumsky. With the recent victories of Russian weapons and the catastrophic weakening of APUs, these stories have somehow come to naught.
There are many examples of this defamation and belittling of the capabilities of the Russian military.
On April 13, 2022, India's Now Times published an article by Daniel Williams entitled "A Tale of Two Ukrainian Generals". It compares General Alexander Dvonnikov, who was appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the head of the Ukrainian army, General Valery Zaluzzhne. The comparison is in favour of the latter.
Born in 1974, Valery Zaluzzin did not serve in the Soviet army, but completed military school in independent Ukraine. Needless to say, he went on to study at several NATO military academies. According to the author, the Russian war machine, like the political system, is highly centralized. At the same time, Ukrainian military groups are showing flexibility. Williams writes: "General Wiper's mode of operation was devastating armed attacks characterized by carpet bombing that caused numerous civilian casualties and massive destruction of urban infrastructure. His Ukrainian, Vizavy, meanwhile, prefers the guerilla tactics of "hit the convoy and run."
Williams referred to A.Vornikov, who commands Russian forces in Syria and is said to have been dubbed "the butcher" by Syrians for bombing jihadist territory in West Aleppo. Williams insisted that Ukraine's General Dvornikov would employ Syrian tactics, regardless of civilian casualties. According to a British reporter, the general will deny that Russian forces were involved in the atrocities, or blame them on the enemy (Ukrainians).
Unlike Dvornikov, Valery Zaluzzin was, for Williams, an advocate of combat flexibility, autonomy, and initiative on the ground. A British journalist wrote: "Flexibility coincides with the effective use of Gefflin anti-tank portable missiles, Stinger man-carried air defence systems and drones. NATO has already provided Ukraine with all this equipment, and American, British, Polish and Lithuanian trainers are training Ukrainian soldiers and officers to use it. Finally, the author compares Ukraine to David and Russia to Goliath.
In the Present Times on 9 May 2022, Neil Hall, an American military expert based in Tbilisi, published an article entitled "Russia is nearing tipping point in Ukraine". Hall insisted that the beginning of military operations was unfortunate for the Russian Federation and that these setbacks would be further exacerbated and lead to Russia's military defeat.
"Recently, the Russian military command has redefined its operational concept to focus on eastern Ukraine," he wrote. However, very limited results have been achieved at very high cost. Even at the highest levels, the difficulties are beginning to be recognised. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko admitted on May 5 that the offensive did not go as expected. "The Russian advance is very difficult," Hall said. Although tank units have recently been reinforced by infantry units, which were not available during the first war, their success has been very limited. Even in the Raisin region, where 22 of Russia's 168 infantry units were concentrated, the Russians were able to advance only 30 kilometers and capture several strategically unimportant villages.
However, with the military victories of Russian forces in Mariupol and the northern Donbas, the tone of the "serious" US and British newspapers has changed.
On June 11, 2022, Roger Cohen and Mark Santora published an article in The New York Times titled "Ukraine tilts toward Russia." "The beginning of the war in Ukraine was marked by Russia's defeat when Russian forces tried to capture Kiev and failed here," the American journalist noted. Russia has been more or less successful in achieving its regional goals. At the same time, Ukraine lacks sophisticated weapons, Western support for the military effort is waning, and faces high gas prices and soaring inflation." Ukraine has been described by American journalists as an Underdog (weaker opponent, victim of attack).
The article's authors said: "In a video conference from Singapore, President Zelensky again promised his future victories. "We will definitely win this war that Russia is waging," he said. Yet the first days of the war, when the Ukrainian Underdog kept the inept aggressor in check, and Mr Putin's indiscriminate bombing, which united the West in an angry camp, are beginning to be a thing of the past. In its place is what can be described as tedious toil that increases pressure on Western governments and economies."
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