Original article (in Bosnian) was published on 30/05/2023
The web portal Nulta tacka published an article claiming that Ukraine is announcing the Holocaust and the extermination of Russians who do not condemn the policy of the Russian president and do not support Ukraine. These claims came from a site known for spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories and have no basis in facts.
On May 23, 2023, the web portal Nulta tacka published an article with the following title:
Ukraine announces Holocaust of Russians who support Putin
The article claims that Ukrainian military officials were ordered to start mass killing Russians who support Putin and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky authorized the “extermination” of Russians who do not support Ukraine and do not condemn the policies of the Russian president. The web portal Nulta tacka refers to the statement of the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov:
Ukrainian military officials have been ordered to begin mass killing Russians who show any support for their country or leader Vladimir Putin.
According to the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, President Zelensky has authorized the extermination of Russians who refuse to condemn Putin and show support for Ukraine.
In an interview, Budanov confirmed that the execution of pro-Putin citizens had already begun: “We have already successfully eliminated a lot of people. There were cases that everyone knows about, thanks to media coverage”.
Referring to the Daily Mail, in the continuation of the article by Nulta tacka, it is stated that since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, several “prominent figures” have been killed or wounded. Thus, it is stated that the writer Zahar Prilepin was injured in an attack with a bomb placed under his car, and that Vladlen Tatarski, a military blogger close to the head of the Wagner formation Yevgeni Prigozhin, was killed by explosives hidden in a figure that was handed to him during a public event. The article also mentions that in August of last year, Darja Dugina, the daughter of the philosopher Aleksandar Dugin, was killed in a car bomb explosion on the road outside Moscow.
After other details from the two interviews given by Budanov, Nulta tacka returns again to the topic of murders of Russian citizens. This is how Budanov’s statement is quoted, in which he says that such cases have happened and will continue: “Such cases will receive the well-deserved punishment, and the appropriate punishment can only be liquidation, and I will carry it out”.
What are the facts?
The article published on Nulta tacka is a translation of the text published in English on the web portal The people’s voice. The article on this site contains identical claims about the announcement of a “holocaust of Russians who support Putin” and the alleged approval of “the extermination of Russians who refuse to condemn Putin and show support for Ukraine”.
The People’s Voice, which until recently was called NewsPunch, and before it was called Your News Wire, regularly promotes disinformation and conspiracy theories. Raskrinkavanje dealt with fake news originating from this page on several occasions (link, link, link).
This site cited the British Daily Mail as its source. The article referred to by The People’s voice was published in the Daily Mail on May 18 and relays details from two interviews that Kyrylo Budanov gave to the Ukrainian YouTube channel RAZNYE ЛЮДИ and ISLND TV. The article emphasizes Budanov’s statement in which he admits that official Kyiv is responsible for the murder of several individuals in Russia who were recognized as “Putin’s prominent spokesmen”.
The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, Major General Kyrylo Budanov, has admitted that several Kremlin propagandists have been killed since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Budanov also said Ukraine wants to establish a demilitarized border zone up to 60 miles inside Russia to reduce the chances of future attacks, The Times reported.
When asked if Ukrainian security services killed Russian propagandists, Budanov (37) said: ‘We have already successfully eliminated quite a few people. There were famous cases that everyone knows about, thanks to media coverage.’
Although Budanov himself does not mention names, the Daily Mail article recalls several cases of murder and wounding on Russian territory since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Budanov’s statement from the second interview is quoted below, in which he says that attacks on Russians who have committed war crimes will continue.
He said his agents would continue to target Russians who committed war crimes against Ukraine.
“These cases have happened and will continue [to happen]. Such people will receive the punishment they deserve, and the appropriate punishment can only be liquidation, and I will carry it out”, he said.
The Daily Mail article cited by The People’s Voice does not claim that Ukraine is announcing a “holocaust of Putin-supporting Russians” or that the Ukrainian president has authorized the “extermination of Russians who refuse to condemn Putin and show support for Ukraine”.
The Daily Mail refers to The Times in its article. The Times article also does not contain claims about a “holocaust of Russians” or that the Ukrainian president ordered the “extermination of Russians who refuse to condemn Putin and show support for Ukraine”.
This was similarly reported by other media in English, as well as in our language.
Statements that some Russians are targets of the Ukrainian military intelligence service were reported by both Russian (1, 2, 3) and Ukrainian media (1, 2). Although the statements are interpreted in different ways, neither these articles contain allegations of “announcement of the holocaust of Russians who support Putin” nor orders to exterminate Russians who do not support Ukraine. The articles say that Budanov admitted that authorities from Kyiv were involved “in the murders of prominent Russians” or that they are targeting many “public and media figures”.
As stated in some of the aforementioned reports, in an interview with ISLND TV, Budanov referred to an earlier statement that “Ukraine will continue to kill Russians”, which was reported by Yahoo news in early May (1, 2). He told this channel that his words were not conveyed adequately on that occasion. As reported by The new voice of Ukraine, Budanov stated in the interview that a key part was omitted in which he says that his words refer to Russians who have committed war crimes.
“This is a shortened version”, he explained.
“The most important part was omitted from it, only the Russians who are war criminals, who committed crimes against humanity, crimes such as gang rapes, rapes of minors, murders… It was about them. That clarification has been removed from the quote”.
(…)
“This is absolutely true. I will confirm to you once again – I am not afraid of my words: there have been and there will be cases [of scoundrels]. These people will eventually suffer the punishment they would deserve in any country in the world. Only their liquidation can be a deserved punishment for such acts. I don’t think anything else is appropriate. This is my opinion. I adhere to it and will implement it”.
Claims about the announcement of a “holocaust of Putin-supporting Russians” fit into a larger narrative trying to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From the beginning of the invasion, Russian propaganda tried to portray Ukraine as responsible for the war, even declaring it “Nazi”. Putin himself stated that he decided to attack Ukraine to “protect the people (Ukrainian Russians) who are exposed to abuse and genocide carried out by the Kyiv regime for eight years”.
Allegations about the existence of concentration camps for civilians in Ukraine, which Raskrinkanje dealt with earlier, also fit into this narrative.
Accordingly, we consider the claim that Ukraine “announced the holocaust of Russians who support Putin” to be fake news. We assess the claim that the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence said that the country’s president “approved the extermination of Russians who refuse to condemn Putin and show support for Ukraine” as disinformation.