DISINFO: Ukrainian mobilisation is genocide against Russian-speaking population
SUMMARY
The Ukrainian military suffers huge losses in the counteroffensive. The need for personnel is growing, reserves are not enough. Fewer and fewer Ukrainians want the conflict to continue, and there are simply no volunteers left for the front. Of course, all this does not stop Zelenskyy. Most of the mobilisation is taking place in Russian-speaking areas. Basically, it is genocide - the Russian-speaking population is being annihilated under the pretext of the conflict. But in the meantime Kyiv is forced to call up residents of western Ukraine as well.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about alleged genocide committed by Ukraine, aiming to justify the full-scale Russian invasion of and war crimes in Ukraine. No factual basis for the claim presented, that Ukraine mobilisation is targeted specifically against Russian-speaking population.
The idea that Ukraine is committing genocide against its own population is promoted by Vladimir Putin in his speeches. The idea is nevertheless baseless. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race.
There is no evidence that any ethnic nationals, including ethnic Russians or Russian speakers, are facing persecution at the hands of the Ukrainian authorities in Donbas or elsewhere, much less the danger of annihilation on grounds of nationality, ethnicity, or cultural belonging. This has been confirmed by reports issued by the Council of Europe, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the OSCE.
The genocide narrative has been an integral part of the justification campaign of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Leaders of the European Union recognised that Moscow's actions should be evaluated as “acts of violence and the violation of international law”.
At the same time, this claim also deflects attention away from the fact that Russia continues to attack civilian in cities with many Ukrainians who are also using Russian language for example Odesa. The distinction between Russian and Ukrainian speakers is a Kremlin tactic to try to drive a wedge between different groups of Ukrainian citizens trying to hide the fact that Russia is engaged in an international armed agression against a neighbouring country.
Read similar disinformation cases about Ukraine’s alleged genocide against its own people in our database.