If you have been watching the coverage of the conflict in Ukraine there is clear that a narrative is being pushed.
President Zelensky is being compared to Winston Churchill
during World War II, he is leading his people during perilous times to become
an inspiring figure. He refused a safe passage offer from the US with the quip
“I need ammunition, not a ride”. He streams videos from the deserted streets of
Ukraine and posted photos with his cabinet. Photo of Zelensky surfaces in
military gear on the battlefront. To sum it up Zelensky is being portrayed as
Churchill, Rambo and Social media influences all rolled into one.
Not to be left behind, a former Miss Ukraine and the First
Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelensky joined the army. There are teary
moments of Ukrainian soldiers bidding farewell to their families and children
in the streets waving at them as they depart for war. There were photos of
Russian soldiers holding Ukrainian girls as hostages. We
see harrowing footage of injured Ukrainian children, slain Ukrainian
soldiers, and explosions. We see courage as a brave Ukrainian child stands up
to a Russian Soldier, almost ordering him to leave her country.
It is all so poignant and inspiring until you fact-check the
images.
The photos of Zelensky in military gear were from February
11, 2021, and April
9, 2021. Russian soldier holding Ukrainian girls at gunpoint was
a 2005
photo from the West Bank. Neither the
first lady of Ukraine nor the former
Miss Ukraine is joining the armed forces. The teary farewell of
Ukrainian soldiers amidst the invasion was actually the happy
homecoming moment of US Marines. Ukrainian children sending off the army
for war with Russia was an
old image from 2016. The is a video that shows a young Ukrainian girl
standing up to a Russian soldier who was shot in 2012 in the West Bank. A video
from Syria was falsely shared as a Russian attack on Ukraine. A heartbreaking
photo of an injured child from the Syrian war was shared as the victim
of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. A poignant moment from the movie
was shared as scenes from battle-torn Ukraine
Such instances are numerous and all show the Ukrainian side in
good light which makes it clear who the creators are.
They prove the adage that truth is the first casualty of
war.
It is also interesting to note that Zelensky has been seen on
deserted dark streets of Ukraine or in indoor locations but never in public
places in Ukraine where the date can be verified. Now there is a possibility
that he remains behind closed doors for security reasons.
An amazing 91
percent of Ukrainians approve of Zelensky’s performance. This is good
news for Zelensky who was struggling with just
28 percent of public approval after the pandemic.
The videos keep flooding the zone and the media dutifully
reports them. Yesterday, a moving video appears to show a captured Russian
soldier breaking down in tears as he sips tea and Ukrainians call his mother to
tell her he’s OK.
https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1499060828817043474
Even news organizations such as BBC use mobile phone footage
whose authenticity they cannot verify. They introduce it with a disclaimer but
the question remains why to show it if it cannot be verified.
A look at Zelensky and his tenure in office so far, before the
war broke.
Zelensky won the presidential election in 2019 after much of
his campaign was allegedly bankrolled by one of Ukraine’s richest — and most corrupt — oligarchs,
Igor Kolomoisky.
Corruption remains rampant and deep-rooted in Ukraine. There
are allegations that new anti-oligarch laws were used to restrict the
activities of oligarchs who do not support Zelensky. Corruption charges aimed
at Zelensky's main rival, Petro
Poroshenko, his predecessor as president, are regarded as politically
motivated by observers. There has been an allegation of considerable
corruption and cronyism.
During
recent months there has been a surge in attempts by Zelensky to
control the media. This included pressure on publication owners, demands for
political talk shows, attempts to cancel the screening of a documentary film,
and threats of criminal prosecution against media outlets and
journalists.
Over the years, neo-Nazism has earned the Ukrainian
government’s implicit endorsement. The Ukrainian National Guard is already home
to the Azov Battalion that has neo-Nazi
leanings. The logo of the Azov Battalion comprising of two neo-Nazi emblems
— the Wolfsangel and the Sonnenrad. The National Guard of Ukraine has shared a
video on its Twitter account that shows Azov fighters greasing bullets
with pig fat, ostensibly to be used against Muslim Chechens deployed to their
country as Russia steps up its military assault on Ukraine.
Following Russia’s invasion, there have been reports of the
Ukrainian government using citizens
as human shields. Indian
students described the increasingly violent, antagonistic, and racist
behavior meted out to them by Ukrainian authorities at the borders. There have
also been charges of racism, African,
Asian and Caribbean people, many of whom are students,
have shared reports and footage of themselves being prevented from
leaving the country owing to their race.
We must remember that those cheering the Ukrainian regime are
still claiming that Trump colluded with Putin to rig the 206 elections and that
the protests on January 6th, 2020 that went overboard were an
insurrection. They now baselessly blame Trump for this conflict because
he is 'weakening NATO'. The long-term goal is, was, and will always remain
to prevent Trump from winning the White House in 2024.
Beyond the petty Democrat politics, we must obviously
sympathize with regular Ukrainians. Their suffering is unfathomable. They have
lost their loved ones, their homes, their places of work, source of income, and
hope. They are living in fear. Families have been torn apart. Some will have to
live as refugees in neighboring nations. They may suffer from considerable PTSD
apart from physical impairments.
So what do we make of the Ukrainian regime and President Zelensky?
Could the conflict have transformed him into a different man or is this all a
charade?
Let the conflict end or recede, let those affected by the conflict
be interviewed. Let historians and documentarians gather information from all
sides. Let everything be judged dispassionately and objectively. Only then can
we pass a verdict. The media and the public must restrain the urge to confer
members of the Ukrainian regime with superlative epithets merely based on
social media posts or poignant utterances from a former actor.
Global powers must be cautious while arming the Ukrainian
without supervision. These arms could be misused or sold after the conflict is
over and the millions may end up in personal accounts. Aid has to be sent and
aid workers must make sure that the aid reaches the people directly and is not
siphoned off by middlemen.
For every bit of information we receive from any of the media,
including social media, we have to have a healthy amount of skepticism but an
open mind while we hope for peace.
This piece also appears on American Thinker
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