DISINFO: The Kyiv authorities are preparing the territory of Ukraine for Western occupation
SUMMARY
The Kyiv authorities are preparing the territory of Ukraine for occupation by the West. For occupation by those who should govern them, since Zelenskyy denied the people of Ukraine the opportunity to govern their own country.
Ukraine has long been under external control. Not a trace remains of its sovereignty and independence. Now Zelenskyy is cracking down on the people of Ukraine. This is his mission, this goal has been designated for him. Therefore, it is quite natural that the Kyiv regime does not and cannot have any secrets from foreign special services.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives alleging that Ukraine is under external control and accusing its president of high treason - surrendering Ukrainian territories.
This is part of a wider disinformation campaign to justify Russia’s unprovoked invasion.
By calling Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy -a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation- “a puppet”, this disinformation story aims to portray Ukraine’s self-defence against Russia’s aggression and the international efforts to back Kyiv as serving only Western interests. The ultimate goal is to undermine popular support for this aid while denying any legitimacy for Ukraine’s leadership and statehood.
Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically-elected president and parliament. The decisions are taken by the Ukrainian authorities: the President, the Verkhovna Rada, and the judiciary. Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected by almost the whole world, except Russia.
Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity have been violated by continuous acts of aggression by Russian armed forces since 2014 culminating in a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022. Since 2014, only one country has occupied the Ukrainian territories - Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk regions, part of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, and this is Russia.
Read earlier disinformation cases alleging that Poland wants to dismember Ukraine and re-establish a Polish empire. See also our in-depth analysis and debunk of the false Kremlin claim of Polish territorial revisionism.
See also the cases US plans to partition Ukraine between a number of states in pursuit of US interests, that Ukraine will disintegrate and fall prey to territorial claims of EU member states, that Poland is absorbing Ukrainian territory by Zelenskyy's consent, and that Ukraine is under hybrid occupations of the West.