DISINFO: Zelenskyy’s office threatened China with an economic crisis for supporting Russia
SUMMARY
Zelenskyy's office threatened China with an economic crisis for supporting Russia. The adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhailo Podolyak, believes that it is time for China to decide which side it is on in the Ukrainian conflict.
RESPONSE
The allegation made in the headline of this disinformation story is false. Although the body of the article can be considered a factual report on Mykhaylo Podolyak’s statements, none of his reported comments can be considered as threatening China with an economic crisis, contrary to what the headline affirms. This disinformation story is a direct reaction to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and its goal is to portray the Ukrainian government as aggressive and unreasonable after China’s rapprochement.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives based in disingenuous distortions to attack Ukraine, such as claims that Zelenskyy gets military advice from his 9-year old son, that the UN published a report on Kyiv’s discrimination against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, that Spain launched a National Strategy on WMD out of concern about corrupt Ukraine, or that the Russian Embassy in Mexico called out a Ukrainian Nazi slogan used in the press.