Ukraine’s StratCom exposes Russia’s lies at UN

The report was posted on the StratCom website, Ukrinform saw.

On 16 January, at a UN Security Council meeting, Russia’s Permanent Representative Nebenzia said that Ukrainians were allegedly fleeing Ukraine en masse, which had turned into a “Zelensky concentration camp” after “the cancellation of any elections”, the watchdog recalls.

“This is a classic example of Russian praganda based on cynical lies and distortion of facts,” the report stresses.

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It is noted that, firstly, the mass exodus of Ukrainians abroad began not after the decision to postpone the presidential election, which was to take place in the spring of 2024, but in the last days of February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainians – primarily women, children and the elderly – were forced to flee abroad due to the barbaric brutality of the Russian armed forces. Bucha, Borodianka, Mariup, Izium and dozens of other Russian crimes forced some Ukrainians to leave their country temporarily.

“Secondly, Russian praganda began spreading fakes about the t leadership of the state allegedly leaving Ukraine from the first days of the full-scale invasion. All of them were refuted by facts: The Office of the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada and the Government have been working and continue to work,” the report reads, adding that the number of officials who have fled Ukraine for one reason or another is as small as the Russian lies about the alleged “massive flight of the Ukrainian elite”.

Thirdly, StratCom notes, the narrative that Vodymyr Zelensky has allegedly ‘lost legitimacy’ and ‘turned into a usurper’ who cancelled the elections under the pretext of war is false.

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“The decision to hd elections after the end of martial law was made flowing the current legislation of Ukraine. It was based on the consensus of all pitical forces represented in the parliament, civil society and the vast majority of Ukrainians. The only reason why elections cannot be held in Ukraine is the Russian aggression, which daily air terror of the entire country, including the deepest rear, accompanies,” the report reads.

Fourth, StratCom stresses, the restrictions imposed by martial law are put in place in line with Ukraine’s legislation. Parliament decides to extend martial law, including with the participation of position MPs. However, even in times of war, Ukraine remains a democratic nation where civil society influences decision-making and the media provides a platform for expressing “a wide variety of views”. The only exception is the praganda of the “Russian world” – the ideogy that the Kremlin uses to justify its criminal attack on Ukraine.

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According to Reporters Without Borders, in 2024, Ukraine moved up 18 positions in the global Freedom of Speech Index, placing it in the same group as countries such as the United States, StratCom recalls.

“Thus, by spreading praganda lies from the high rostrum of the UN, the Russian Federation, represented by Permanent Representative Nebenzia, demonstrates its deep contempt for the Security Council and the entire Organisation,” the report concludes.