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This article was first published by Truthmeter.mk (North Macedonia), within the framework of Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Project.

We analyze a Facebook post which says:

A million young men killed and many more permanently maimed. The crazy Zelensky, along with the EU and NATO, carries the weight of a whole generation on his conscience.

The war is over.

The scope of the Russian attack is massive. A barrage of missiles has been rained down on Ukrainian cities as Russian ground troops enter Ukrainian territory from multiple directions. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said the country was under attack by cruise and ballistic missiles, with infrastructure near major cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and the Dnieper being particularly targeted, Deutsche Welle published at the time.

 

Since the beginning of Russia’s aggressive military invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s propaganda has repeatedly attempted to distort the thesis and impose a series of justifications for its attacks. The truth is that Russia is the one that carried out an unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. To expect Ukraine to sit on its hands would mean that the citizens of Ukraine are agreeing to be occupied and territorially taken over by Russia, which has not happened. Ukraine as an independent state with territorial integrity and sovereignty has the right to defend itself and to use the available means of assistance from its friends. If it does not, then it would face even greater territorial claims from Russia.

Ukrainian President Zelensky is the Kremlin’s most important disinformation target. He is constantly accused of being a puppet in the hands of Western powers, of dragging Ukraine into war and so on. The fact is that Zelensky is forced to defend himself against Russian aggression with the help of NATO and the EU.

The EU provides military and financial assistance to Ukraine which has the right to defend itself against a Russian military invasion and to protect its territorial integrity.

Russia must stop its atrocious war immediately. The European Union will stand by Ukraine with steadfast support for as long as it takes, stated the conclusions of the European Council from 9 February 2023.

EU leaders have repeatedly called on Russia to immediately cease its military actions, unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from Ukraine, and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence. They stressed Ukraine’s right to choose its own destiny and praised the Ukrainian people for their bravery in defending their country.

The EU has shown unity and strength and provided Ukraine with humanitarian, political, financial and military support.

NATO also condemns Russia’s brutal and unprovoked military aggression against Ukraine, which is an independent and democratic state and a close NATO partner. NATO and its allies, support Ukraine in its undeniable right to self-defense. Military aid includes arms, equipment, and financial assistance to the Ukrainian military. Humanitarian aid includes medical, food and other products for civilians, while financial aid comes in the form of grants, loans, and guarantees.

Based on the aforementioned, we can conclude that Zelensky, the EU, and NATO are not the ones who started the war in Ukraine and are not directly responsible for the victims. Russia has carried out a military invasion of its neighboring country despite appeals from the international community not to do so. Therefore, we assess the analyzed post as untrue.