- Nikolai Patrushev, an influential and long-term ally and presidential aide to Russian President Putin, as well as the former Secretary of Russia’s Security Council reportedly stated that Ukraine could”cease to exist” as a country in 2025 in an interview with the Kremlin-aligned Komsomolskaya Pravda. Despite claiming a”fraternal“ bond between Russians and Ukrainians, he blamed the destruction of Ukrainian cities on Ukraine’s supposed “violent enforcement of neo-Nazi ideology” and “ardent Russophobia.”
- Patrushev’s comments form part of a longstanding pattern of anti-Ukraine statements by senior Russian officials, which seek to undermine and threaten Ukrainian nationhood, identity and culture. This directly contradicts Russia’s recognition of Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty following the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as international recognition of Ukraine.
- Russian leadership rhetoric and frequent allegations of UkrainianNazism prior to, and since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, almost certainly seeks to influence Russian military personnel and the domestic population into participation in, and support for, Russia’s war in Ukraine. It seeks to take advantage of the deep historical and psychological impact of Russia’s war with Nazi Germany to foster perceptions of Ukraine and Ukrainians as a threat, thereby justifying the Russian invasion.Such narratives have been supported and proliferated by Russian state-controlled media.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 17 January 2025.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) January 17, 2025
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/EOO8QFGqsR #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/dpYuec1Wtv
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A Ukrainian soldier has described North Koreans fighting in the Kursk region as “disciplined, determined and fearless,” in a post on social media on Saturday.
Jan. 14