On October 16, 2023, “შიინ ევროპისკენ” [Home to Europe], a Facebook account supporting the pro-Kremlin “Conservative Movement” party published a claim that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that “Georgia should start a war in Abkhazia and Ossetia.” Attached to the post is a Russian-language screenshot of the same content, according to which Zelenskyy made this statement at the summit of the member states of the United Expeditionary Force held in Sweden.
The information was spread in the Russian-language media, it was shared by individual Facebook accounts, groups, and websites (1;2;3;4;5).
The claim the President of Ukraine made such a statement is disinformation. Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the prospect of restoring the territorial integrity of Georgia, but he did not say that the country should start a war to return the occupied Abkhazia and Tskhinvali.
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What did Zelenskyy Say about Georgia?
On October 13, 2023, Zelenskyy remotely participated in the summit of the member states of the United Expeditionary Force held in Sweden and addressed the leaders. He called the current situation a historical turning point and noted that Russia’s defeat would create a historic chance for geopolitical stability along the entire line – from Scandinavia through Minsk and Kyiv to the South Caucasus.
Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke about Georgia and said that thanks to Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression, new prospects for the restoration of territorial integrity will open up for Georgia. The president of Ukraine did not mention the war, as the authors of the posts and the Russian media claim.
“New security perspectives will also emerge due to changes in the South Caucasus region, neighboring the Black Sea. This will add potential to our joint security here in our part of Europe. Especially when, thanks to our defense against Russian aggression, new prospects will open for Georgia to restore its territorial integrity. All of us are now at a historical turning point and we have only two choices – either terrorist Russia will succeed in breaking freedom, and then the zone of geopolitical instability, which exists in the east of Europe, will spread throughout the continent, or thanks to many levels and formats of cooperation, in particular, regional ones, thanks to our common protection of freedom, Russia will lose in this confrontation. After it has lost, as a result, a historic opportunity for geopolitical stability along the entire line – from Scandinavia through Minsk and Kyiv to the South Caucasus will be realized.” – said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
About the Source
The account შიინ ევროპისკენ [Home to Europe] together with two other accounts of the same name (1,2) coordinately spread information of homophobic and anti-Western content, including disinformation claims and fake photo-video materials. The page was created as a counterbalance to the civil campaign “Home to Europe” initiated by non-governmental organizations, which aims to support Georgia’s integration into the European Union.
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