Weekly newsletter
This is a newsletter of exclusive materials of "Ukrinform" for a week
Photo of the week:
Employees of the State Emergency Service during the liquidation of a fire in a multi-story residential building caused by the impact of fragments of a Russian missile in the Holosiivskyi district of the capital, Kyiv, on February 7, 2024.
Interviews and materials:
Twisted history
Two hours of lies and delusions: Putin’s “sensational” interview with Tucker Carlson
On the night of February 9, Tucker Carlson released a two-hour interview with Vladimir Putin. The scandalous ex-Fox News host promised thorny questions to the dictator, which he claimed was his goal when he decided to fly to Moscow.
In 120 minutes, Carlson apparently found no opportunity to ask Putin about the war crimes the Russians had committed in Irpin, Bucha, and other cities across Ukraine, the abduction of thousands of children, the genocidal rhetoric, and the aggressive actions of the Kremlin regime.
The Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security has compiled a review of the interview to debunk Putin’s main fake statements.
Rescue
Ukrainians in Russia: When, how and why did largest Ukrainian diaspora disappear from view?
The Decree on "Historically inhabited by Ukrainians territories of the Russian Federation" signed by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on the day of Unity of Ukraine, January 22, 2024, is still being discussed on professional platforms and in social media. And here we can fully agree with the opinion of Askold Lozynsky, a lawyer and longtime head of the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC, the coordinating organization of all Ukrainian diasporas in the world), that the authorities have only now turned their attention to Ukrainians living in Russia. In fact, the urgency of such a legislative initiative is 15 years overdue.
Another controversial issue is the absence of some territories densely populated by ethnic Ukrainians among those listed in the decree: in particular, the so-called Green Wedge in the Far East. And another, no less complicated question is whether it is realistic to return Ukrainians who wish to do so to their homeland at this time of war and closed borders.
In any case, there is a common vision that the full-scale invasion has changed the optics of the Ukrainian authorities towards fellow citizens who found themselves "on our land, not theirs" (Taras Shevchenko).
Fact Check
Zaluzhnyi's dismissal caused wave of absurd Russian fakes
Following the dismissal of Valerii Zaluzhnyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the appointment of Oleksandr Syrskyi in his place, Russian propaganda created a wave of absurd fakes.
World
Forgotten Declaration of War. Why Putin’s Anti-Western Rhetoric Is not a Bluff
February 10 marks 17 years since Russian President Putin delivered his infamous speech at the Munich Security Policy Conference.
The deceitful accusations against the West voiced in Munich alarmed many at that time because such rhetoric had not been heard from the Kremlin since the time of Nikita Khrushchev. Today, it is obvious how insufficient the response of the international community was, and what disastrous consequences this led to. Has the world really drawn conclusions?
Manipulations
Anti-Semitic card of Russian propaganda
The Putin regime does not shy away from using the dirtiest methods to maintain power, discredit its enemies, and provoke destabilization in other countries. The Kremlin may consider the marked card of anti-Semitism to be one of its trump cards because it has allowed it to solve these problems for decades, to say the least.
On the one hand, the Russian authorities fuel xenophobic, in particular anti-Semitic, sentiments within the Russian Federation. On the other hand, they actively accuse neighbors, including Ukraine, of “reviving Nazism,” hence anti-Semitism.
Top Videos:
War
In Kyiv, the German Diana Wagner, who gave her life for Ukraine, was said goodbye
Diana Wagner served as a combat medic in the Carpathian Sich battalion. She saved soldiers in the hottest parts of the front and wanted to stay in Ukraine after the war. Diana died at the end of January in the Swativ direction in the Luhansk region. Farewell to the combat medic took place in St. Michael's Cathedral, she was buried at the Lukyaniv Cemetery.
Consequences of shelling
Liquidation of the consequences of a rocket attack continues in the Holosiivsky district of Kyiv
On February 7, the Russians once again bombarded Kyiv with rockets. Debris of one badly damaged a multi-story building in Holosiivskyi district. A few days have passed since the missile strike, and the demolition of the debris is still ongoing at the site. Utility services are constantly on duty there, helping to block windows and doors of damaged homes with OSB plates. Nearby is the headquarters, where volunteers provide the victims with everything they need and also treat them with food.
Confrontation
On Independence Square, several dozen people demand the return of Zaluzhnyi
On Independence Square in Kyiv, several dozen people have gathered demanding the return of the dismissed Chief Commander of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi. In particular, the protesters sing the Ukrainian anthem and hold signs with the inscription 'Return Zaluzhny'.
News that may affect events in the country:
Politics
NATO will continue to support Ukraine with all available means - Stoltenberg
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at a press conference in Brussels on February 14 before a meeting of the NATO defense ministers, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.
He stressed that NATO's support is an example of true transatlantic burden sharing.
"The Ukraine Defense Contact group or the Ramstein format has been a great success, and it has mobilized support from NATO Allies and partners. When it comes to military support, we have to remember that 99% of the military support to Ukraine comes from NATO Allies, including Sweden who will soon become a full member. We are constantly discussing how we can ensure that our support is sustained, how we can organize the support in the best possible way," Stoltenberg said.
Defense
Germany planning to increase supply of artillery shells to Ukraine by 3-4 times - Pistorius
Germany is planning to increase the supply of artillery shells to Ukraine by three to four times this year and has recently handed over a EUR 100 million aid package to the country.
Economy
Ambassador Zvarych: Polish farmers have no reason to escalate protests at border
"I believe that Polish farmers have no reason to escalate their protests, as their voice is already heard throughout Europe and they are looking for ways to resolve the situation to take into account the interests of both Ukrainian and European farmers. We need to learn to live in a united Europe, as Ukraine's membership in the EU is inevitable," the diplomat stressed.
World
U.S. Congressman Crow on Zaluzhnyi's dismissal: President has right to seek new approach
The United States recognizes Valerii Zaluzhnyi's leadership as Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and, at the same time, supports the right and responsibility of President Volodymyr Zelensky to seek a new approach after two years of war.
See you next Friday!