DISINFO: The West may be orchestrating a coup against Zelenskyy
SUMMARY
The West is orchestrating an eventual regime change in Ukraine. The long interview with general Zaluzhny in The Economist was not casual, but possibly an intervention by British intelligence service MI6 to raise his profile in the West. Besides, the Time magazine, who in 2022 named Zelenskyy as Man of the Year, now basically described him as Adolf Hitler in his last days, delirious, out of touch with reality and crazy. Also, the death of his aide Gennady Chastiakov smells like a sabotage by Zelenskyy’s supporters at the SBU to send a message to Zaluzhny.
RESPONSE
Conspiracy theory not backed by any evidence. This claim aims to undermine Ukraine’s leadership by portraying it as hopelessly divided, and to erode the image of president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation, by framing him as out of control and losing the favour of Western countries that support Ukraine’s war efforts.
There is nothing indicating that the interview of Ukrainian top general Valery Zaluzhny by the publication The Economist published on 01 November 2023, which created some controversy after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected some of Zaluzhny’s statements on the course of the war, was anything else than a journalistic endeavor.
The description of another widely read article about president Zelenskyy in Time Magazine is also very inaccurate and deliberately distorted.
Furthermore, the death of Gennady Chastiakov, currently under investigation, is a totally unrelated incident, brought up here in order to suggest some sort of ongoing infighting plot.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the West is cooling Zelenskyy down through Poland, that the US plans to overthrow Zelenskyy in a new Maidan, that Zelenskyy might end up in Guantanamo after US policy changes, or that the West will get rid of Zelenskyy and blame it on Russia.