Category Fascism

Russia’s Eliminationist Rhetoric Against Ukraine: A Collection

Dating at least to 2008 or 2009, increasingly hostile language laid the groundwork for rejecting Ukraine’s existence as a state, a national group, and a culture.

What follows is a compilation of publicly available statements (readers are invited to submit by email any that we may have missed).

Experts such as Francine Hirsch, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of “Soviet Judgment at Nuremberg,” have pointed to such language as evidence of genocidal intent toward the Ukrainian people. Whether and how the concept of “genocide” applies to Russia’s campaign against Ukraine is the subject of debate, notwithstanding the reference in Article II of the Genocide Convention to “the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such.”

July 30, 2023

Cultural genocide Russian propaganda Incitement & hate speech Genocide vs Ukraine (2022-)Nazism Genocide Fascism Dehumanizing others Ukraine Russia Hatred and bigotry

Fake: Ukraine Wins the Scythian Gold Case Due to Nazism and Occultism in Europe

Ukraine is the legal owner of the Crimean museums exhibits, which is confirmed by international law and multiple decisions of various courts. In Ukraine, the process of accumulating historical artifacts is not ideological.

June 13, 2023

Disinformation Ukrainian culture Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Nazism Fact checks / debunkings Fascism European Union Misconceptions Ukraine Russia Hatred and bigotry International community

Fake: Zelenskyi Wears Nazi Symbols to Vatican

The stylized Ukrainian coat of arms on President Zelenskyi's sweatshirt is one of many other variations of the Ukrainian trident, which has been used in state heraldry for centuries.

May 16, 2023

Disinformation Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Nazism Fact checks / debunkings Fascism Misconceptions Ukraine Russia Hatred and bigotry International community

Manipulation: Ukrainian Intelligence Chief Budanov Calls to Kill All Russians

The Ukrainian Intelligence Chief of the Defense Ministry did not call to kill all Russians. In his interviews, Kyrylo Budanov emphasized that anyone who committed war crimes in Ukraine will be found and liquidated in any part of the world. He never called for killing Russians on national grounds, as the Russian media reported. Such narratives are another Russian propagandist attempt to present Ukraine as a country of flourishing Nazism.

May 13, 2023

Disinformation Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Media taken out of context Nazism Fact checks / debunkings Genocide Fascism Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia War crimes Hatred and bigotry

Fake: Kateryna Prokopenko Becomes an Influential German Politician

There is no evidence that the wife of the Azov regiment commander Kateryna Prokopenko is engaged in any political activities, especially in Germany. Prokopenko, as the head of the public organization 'Association of Families of Azovstal Defenders, visited Germany in early April to draw attention to Ukrainian soldiers being released from captivity and pressure international organizations to investigate the terrorist attack in Olenivka. Representatives of the German Foreign Ministry, in turn, promised to help with implementing rehabilitation programs for the families of the soldiers who died in Mariupol and the families of heroes injured in the terrorist attack in Olenivka, as well as soldiers who returned from captivity with amputations. Moreover, Azov is neither neo-Nazi or fascist. It is an old Russian propaganda fake.

April 15, 2023

Disinformation Military aid Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Nazism Fact checks / debunkings Fascism Germany Misconceptions Azov Battalion Context Ukraine Russia Aid to Ukraine Hatred and bigotry International community

Fake: Ukrainian Soldiers Fire on Car with Russian Speaking Mother and Child

Russian media are disseminating a video claiming it shows a Ukrainian
soldier shooting at a car with a woman and child inside because the woman
was speaking Russian. This poorly staged video was shot in Russian occupied
Ukraine near Donetsk. The alleged Russian speaking woman and child are
never seen, the location of the alleged incident is a spot where Ukrainian
military simply could not be present, all and the cross painted on the back
of the alleged Ukrainian military vehicle - a symbol that has never been
used by the Ukrainian military, all point to the the video being yet
another Russian fake.

March 28, 2023

Disinformation Faked publications: billboards ads magazines etc Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Attacks on civilians Nazism Fact checks / debunkings Fascism Misconceptions Ukraine Russia War crimes Hatred and bigotry

Fake: Ukraine Replaces Victory over Nazism Day with Victory Over Russia Holiday

A draft law under parliamentary consideration which has not yet been voted on does not cancel existing national holidays, but simply establishes new public holidays. The draft introduces a Peace Day holiday on September 21, in order to celebrate peaceful life after Ukraine's Victory over Russian military aggression. The May 9 Victory over Nazism day will remain a holiday, but will become a workday.

March 19, 2023

Disinformation Coordinated disinformation Media taken out of context Nazism Fact checks / debunkings Fascism Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia Hatred and bigotry

Fake: US Consulate in Milan Publishes Post with Ukraine and Nazi Germany Flags

Employees of the US consulate in Milan never published a Twitter post with
the flags of Ukraine and Nazi Germany. The consulate's Twitter account was
hacked. After regaining control over the account, the hacked post was
deleted.

March 1, 2023

Russian propaganda Media taken out of context Nazism Fact checks / debunkings USA Fascism Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Russia Hatred and bigotry International community Italy

Fake: Ukrainian Tattoo Studio Offers 50% Swastika Removal Discount

StopFake checked the photo using Google and Bing image searches, and found that the photo used to create this latest fake is of a tattoo studio in Russia. The original photo shows a tattoo parlor called "Tattooirograf," which is located in Biysk, in the Altai Republic of southern Russia. In addition to this low-quality photoshop, Russian media also made a mistake with their special offer, writing the word "акция" ("discount offer") in Russian instead of "акція", as it would be spelled in Ukrainian.

January 13, 2023

Disinformation Russian propaganda Coordinated disinformation Nazism Fact checks / debunkings Fascism Misconceptions Ukraine Russia Hatred and bigotry

Disinfo: Zelenskyy is only a marketing operation, a Jewish face for a Nazi regime

The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been actively used by the pro-Kremlin outlets for years to denigrate Ukraine.

In 2015 Ukraine issued a ban on Nazi and Communist ideologies. The far-right groups had a limited presence during the Euromaidan protests and have suffered defeats in every national election since, with a united front of all radical right-wing parties in the 2019 parliamentary elections winning only 2.15% of the vote falling far short of the 5% minimum guaranteeing entry into parliament.

May 2, 2022

Religion Religious freedom Elections Disinformation Antisemitism Coordinated disinformation Democracy Nazism Fact checks / debunkings Faked news reports Fascism Methods Misconceptions Ukraine Hatred and bigotry