On Tuesday, Russia declared intentions to organize the world’s first “Global Anti-Fascist Conference” in an effort to “unify” global efforts to oppose Nazis and Neo-Nazi ideas.
Putin is Making It Up
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military campaign to “de-Nazify” Ukraine, stating the administration of Jewish President Volodymyr Zelensky was run by “fascists” and “revolution” leadership.
In a fair election in 2019, Zelensky defeated his rival, Petro Poroshenko, who accused him of being too sympathetic to Russia.
Russian Defense Secretary Sergey Shoigu, in an evident attempt to regain the political agenda, amid allegations of atrocities, echoed one of Vladimir Putin’s rationalizations for creating a full attack of Ukraine last week.
Shoigu claimed the Russian government’s goal is to “demobilize and denazify” the nation in order to protect Russian speakers in the Donbas area from “mass slaughter.”
BREAKING NEWS: Ukrainian President Zelensky demands that Putin and Russia be investigated for war crimes and “state terrorism” over their deadly attack on “residential areas” of Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv. Retweet IF YOU STAND WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKY AGAINST PUTIN! pic.twitter.com/Cguwctm3Io
— Ukraine News update (@Senju_hyuga) March 1, 2022
“The Russian army’s troops will keep carrying out a special military campaign until the goals are fulfilled,” the defense minister said, as per Russia’s Sputnik News, stressing Russia’s troops are not in Ukrinane to “occupy” the city, but rather to drive out Nazi elements.
Shoigu also stated Russia will lead the world in combating Nazism, declaring the “First Worldwide AntiFascist Conference” will be held in Russia in August.
This comes with the goal of “uniting efforts of the global community in the battle against the ideology of Nazi ideology and neo-Nazism in any shape of its incarnation in the contemporary age.”
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov used similar language during a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Tuesday, saying, “The purpose of our efforts is to save people by implementing our allied commitments, as well as to demobilize and denazify Ukraine.”
The Lies
According to Russia’s Defense Department, “Russian troops are not attacking Ukrainian communities” and are only striking military installations.
Use of cluster bombs is atrocious. Dropping cluster bombs on civilian targets is a war crime. Russia must immediately cease their use and those responsible for casualties already caused must be held accountable by the ICC https://t.co/9KeY2ftyrb
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) March 1, 2022
Nevertheless, as per Ukrainian sources, the Russians bombarded a symphony hall, opera theater, and government facilities in the city of Kharkiv, killing ten people and injuring 35 more.
Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs minister Dmytro Kuleba shared a film, reportedly showing the attacks and accusing Russia of “war crimes” for the “barbaric Russian missile attacks on the central Freedom Plaza and civilian areas of Kharkiv.”
Although there are aspects of Neo-Nazism in Ukraine, such as the infamous militia Azov Brigade in Mariupol, the nation is led by Volodymyr Zelensky, a Jewish descendant of World War II veterans who battled Nazi Germany.
“They inform you that we’re fascists,” Zelensky stated to the Russian people before the assault last week.
“How do people defend Nazism after losing eight million lives fighting the Nazi regime? How can I possibly be a Nazi? Say it for my grandfather, who served as a Soviet infantry soldier in World War II and perished as a colonel in a free Ukraine.”
