On June 7th, 2022, Irakli Jankarashvili (Irakli Irakli), the author of the pro-Russian online outlets ‘tvalsazrisi.ge’ and ‘infoanalytical.ge’, published a post claiming that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been increasingly talking about President Zelenskyy’s inadequate behaviour, which by itself causes the death of Ukrainian soldiers and Ukraine as a whole. The post is accompanied by a video in which soldiers call Zelenskyy an enemy and accuse him of using the soldiers as cannon fodders. On the same day, an identical video was shared by ‘Global Politics’ – one of Irakli Jankarashvili’s Facebook pages, as well as Facebook users Lasha Menteshashvili and Nikoloz Kvanchiani.
The address of the Ukrainian soldiers is being disseminated in a manipulative way. In fact, the video features Ukrainian soldiers captured in Lyman, with the participation of which Russian news agencies have disseminated other videos as well. In the videos, the captives are allegedly forced to say what the Russian side dictates during the interrogation. The dissemination of the video without context gives the impression that the soldiers are addressing Zelenskyy from the battlefield and accusing him of treason.
On June 6th, video footage featuring Ukrainian prisoners of war addressing the Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskyy appeared on Russian-language sources. The video is one minute long and features 21 soldiers saying one single phrase. According to them, Zelenskyy has destroyed the cuntry, left the soldiers to die and that instead of Russia, Zelenskyy is the main enemy of Ukraine.
Notably, the video shows Ukrainian soldiers captured during a raid in the city of Lyman, Donetsk region. Most of them are tired, there are bruises and wounds on their face. The video is accompanied by music to create a dramatic effect, and the soldiers are angry and frustrated.
A few days earlier, on May 25th, the publication rusvesna.su published videos of the interrogation of Ukrainian soldiers captured in Lyman (link 1, link 2). The video shows the same soldiers who later issued an address to Zelensky.
After listening to the video, it becomes clear that the Ukrainian soldiers are being forced to repeat what they are being told. For instance, the first soldier says that he was captured in Livan. While saying that, he is being interrupted and forced to say surrender instead of capture:
-We were captured in the city of Lyman…
-You surrendered
-I surrendered, we were a group…
In the second video, (from 0:13) which also features the scenes of the interrogation of other prisoners, the same soldier is being asked once again where he was taken hostage.
-Where were you taken hostage?
-In Lyman
-in the red Lyman?
-in the red Lyman
-You surrendered.
-Yes, exactly so, I surrendered.
On May 28th, the Russian side released another video with the participation of the same soldiers, entitled “Ukrainian captives admire Russian soldiers.” In the videos, the captives are allegedly forced to say what good conditions they are in and that they are provided with everything.
Other footage of the soldiers in the video was released on May 18th, 21st, 25th, and 30th (link 1, link 2, link 3, link 4, link 5). In the videos, the Russian side calls on the captives to tell about their location when being captured, what they think about the commanders, how they were trained, and so on. In one of the videos, a Ukrainian captive is asked to say “Glory to Russia.”
Screenshot: podolyaka.ru, YouTube
Screenshot: rznonline.ru, YouTube
Screenshot: podolyaka.ru, YouTube
Screenshot: smolnarod.ru, YouTube
Screenshot: mybryansk.ru, YouTubeInterestingly, the spaces where the soldiers record the address to Zelenskyy and the interrogation room are identical. The attire of the captives featured in the videos is the same as well. These hints create the impression that these videos were recorded in the same time period.
See the scenes from the Ukrainian captives’ address to Zelenskyy (on the left) and the interrogation of the captives (on the right).
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