Pro-Russian propaganda resources are spreading statements by Verkhovna Rada deputy Artem Dmytruk, in which he accuses President Zelenskyi of “genocide of his own people” under the leadership of “Western curators”. However, this is untrue.

This is reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security. Its experts note that Artem Dmytruk, although formally a deputy, is actually outside Ukraine, having illegally left the country. He actively cooperates with Russian propaganda, giving interviews to resources banned in the EU, in particular RT. In his speeches, Dmytruk promotes narratives about the “criminal regime of Zelenskyi” and accuses him of unleashing the war started by Russia and of the “genocide of the Ukrainian people”.

Accusations of “genocide” and other crimes are designed to undermine trust in President Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian government both among Ukrainians and internationally. Using traitors from Ukrainian politics, Russian propaganda creates the illusion of “internal resistance” in Ukraine. Dmytruk justifies Russia’s actions by shifting the blame for the war and its consequences onto Ukraine, which helps legitimize the aggression in the eyes of Russian audiences.