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Message The United States, a weak ally, is of no need in Ukraine

This message was spread by pro-Russian telegram channels in the context of the discovery of a Chinese balloon in US airspace. According to China, it was a meteorological airship that allegedly went astray. The propagandists wrote that the American air defense system failed to do its job, so the United States did not immediately shoot down the balloon. To promote the message, they also used quotes from US ex-president Trump and US senators supporting him. Trump said that the bullet should have been shot down immediately and if he was still president, he would have done it faster. The propagandists came to the conclusion that the US is “really” a weak ally for Ukraine due to Biden’s “indecisiveness”. Moreover, the US is supplying its “inefficient” air defense systems to Ukraine.

In fact, the US did not immediately shoot down the balloon, as they verified the purpose of its stay in US airspace. After it was confirmed that the bullet was following US military units, it was shot down. It was impossible to shoot down the balloon without proper confirmation, since this could really lead to an escalation of relations between the United States and China. Trump's quotes in this context are manipulative, as Bloomberg found that during his presidency he ignored at least three similar situations with Chinese spy balloons. That is, the US leadership and the US military acted according to established rules, and did not show weakness, as Russian propaganda states.

By spreading messages about the “weakness” of the United States, Russia is trying to devalue partner assistance for Ukraine and discredit the United States in the eyes of Ukrainians. In fact, the issue of the war in Ukraine remains important to American politics. This is proved by new decisions on additional military assistance for Ukraine.

Earlier, propagandists wrote that the United States allegedly supported Ukraine in the war because of its interest in Ukrainian titanium, or would turn Ukraine into a new Afghanistan.

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