Message Ukrainians are Russians who have become ill and brutalized
It is the opinion spread by Russian propagandists in the media and Telegram channels.
The main characteristic of Ukrainians should supposedly be the Ukrainian language, but no one communicates in it, except on television. It can be seen in the video during the Russian attack on Kyiv by kamikaze drones when people reacted by speaking Russian and using Russian profanity.
The thesis that Ukrainians are "sick" and "possessed" Russians has been spreading since at least the beginning of April 2022. As "Detector Media" already recorded, Tymofiy Sergeitsev, propagandist and author of the plan for "denazification" of Ukraine for 25 years, believes that Ukrainians don't exist, but only "malorosy" or simply sick Russians. Moreover, separatist Pavlo Gubarev called for the killing of several million Ukrainians "until they understand that they are sick and need to be treated."
Thus, propagandists justify Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine and motivate Russians to go with weapons to "treat" Ukrainians. More details.