As Russian propaganda and its disseminators in Ukraine do with any protests, the pro-Kremlin forces met the demonstrations in Kazakhstan with a wave of discrediting messages. They range from portraying the protests as run by the Western forces from Kyiv to even the Security Service and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Even though at first glance, events in Kazakhstan have nothing to do with Ukraine, the pro-Kremlin media use them to yet again discredit the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity as orchestrated by the West.
The new round of negotiations between presidents Biden and Putin was followed by the traditional speculations aimed at denying Ukraine’s role as an independent actor amidst the US-Russia talks. The pro-Kremlin forces again attempt to discredit the principle that Ukraine’s partners agreed to adhere to — “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine” and pushed the narrative about the US forcing Ukraine to make concessions to Russia. Messages portraying Ukraine as a mere “instrument of confrontation” between “great powers” are aimed at undermining the state’s partnerships and inciting the feeling of dismay and powerlessness.
The statement made by Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Denisova about prisoner Natalia Statsenko, arbitrarily held by the Russian hybrid forces since July 2019, was attacked by the pro-Russian party “Opposition Platform — For Life” and its controlled media. The latter pushed messages blaming Denisova and Ukrainian authorities for failing to free Ukrainian prisoners and praising the role of the party’s leader V.Medvedchuk in the prisoners’ exchanges, thus shifting the responsibility for the imprisoned from Russia onto Ukraine.