Ukraine at UN: Putin's regime weaponizing information since its very beginning

Serhii Dvornyk, Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN, made a corresponding statement at the General Debate of the UN Committee on Information on April 25, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

“Weaponizing information and making it serve aggressive purposes has been a deliberate strategy of Putin’s regime since its very beginning. Starting with destruction of independent media in Russia and killings of independent journalists, the Kremlin has created an information bubble with a parallel reality for millions of Russian people,” the diplomat said.

As Dvornyk stated, the Russian society saturated with anti-Ukrainian fakes and warmongering propaganda for two decades has finally succumbed to them.

As an example, he cited filmed and circulated footage which showed the killing of a Ukrainian POW for his words: “Glory to Ukraine!” commented by the Russians like “Great, but we need more”.

Dvornyk compared the methods of Russian propaganda with those used by the Nazis.

“To make your people ready to kill and destroy, one has to couple dehumanization of chosen target with other feelings, including fear of other nations, superiority of your own nation and faith in your leader,” he noted.

Dvornyk also responded to the narratives voiced at the session of the Committee on Information by Maria Zakharova, Russian propagandist, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, who took the opportunity to arrive in New York as part of a delegation led by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.

“As Russia sends its military and mercenaries, missiles and drones, warplanes and multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine to kill Ukrainians and to destroy Ukrainian cities, it has also sent to the UN a multiple fake launcher from the Russian MFA.

Also, to kill and to destroy. To kill the truth,” the diplomat stated.

Responding to Zakharova's false accusations regarding the murder of Russian propagandist Maxim Fomin (Tatarsky), who was once convicted of bank robbery, Dvornyk noted that "Ukraine does not and will not resort to terror. It is a Russian prerogative."

"His problem was that after Russians retreated from Kherson he became extremely critical towards the Russian military command," Dvornyk recalled.

The diplomat said that the Ukrainian NGO “Institute of Mass Information” registered almost 500 crimes against media and journalists, committed by Russia over 13 months since its large-scale invasion in Ukraine. In particular, 52 media workers were killed, including eight journalists – while performing their professional duties. 14 journalists went missing, 21 were abducted by the Russian troops, 17 were wounded.

“Russian so-called ‘journalists’ were among those who have incited hatred towards Ukrainians. Now they glorify the occupying army and justify its crimes in Ukraine,” Dvornyk said, emphasizing that not only the Nazi political and military leadership, but also diplomats and propagandists were tried in Nuremberg.

“I recommend to the successors of the Third Reich from Moscow to remember this historical fact,” he summed up.

As reported, Zakharova spoke at a session of the UN Committee on Information on Tuesday.

In April, Russia chairs the UN Security Council.