Ukraine: the latest target of government propaganda

In writing for The Australian newspaper, journalist Adam Creighton comments that the Ukraine war has joined climate change and Covid-19 as the latest wellspring of government propaganda misinformation. Creighton says:

“It’s no coincidence climate change, Covid-19 and war propaganda all have the same side-effect of increasing government power over the economy and society, and enriching a handful of powerful corporations that hold much sway over their politics, be they in pharmaceuticals, energy, or weapons manufacturing.”[1]

Ukraine is notoriously identified as one of the world’s most corrupt countries and certainly the most corrupt in Europe.[1] Its President, Volodymyr Zelensky, was the most unlikely candidate to win the 2019 election.[2] Klaus Schwab from the World Economic Forum (WEF) has bragged about helping to elect Zelensky,[3] whose government is known for persecuting political dissidents, banning political parties and closing alternative media outlets.[4] According to Leon Kushner, a journalist who was raised by Holocaust survivors from Ukraine,

“Ukraine is … as corrupt as Russia or perhaps more so. Since 2014 oligarchs run it mob style and chose the then actor Zelensky to be their presidential puppet. The WEF’s Klaus Schwab bragged about helping elect him and his equivalent Canadian puppet Trudeau. Just about every rich and famous player has been to Ukraine. And came back with even more money. From Bill Gates to Joe Biden, from George Soros to the Clintons. They all know that Ukraine is open for business.”[5]

On March 20, 2023, the Ukrainian government banned all Ukrainian opposition parties, accusing its leaders of putting “their own ambitions and careers above the interests of the State”.[6] It also enacted a decree that nationalises all the private TV channels into one state-controlled platform, citing his own martial law as an excuse.[7]  According to the government press release, this is a move to suppress “active dissemination of misinformation”, namely information that is not officially endorsed by the authoritarian regime.[8]

Ukraine is also a multi-ethnic nation and many Ukrainians are ethnic Russians. Don’t Russian-speaking Ukrainians have a right to speak their own language and celebrate their culture and heritage? Apparently not. The Zelensky regime has enacted a series of laws aimed at the so-called “de-russification” of Ukraine.[9]  Russian books and even Russian music have been banned and only books published in Ukrainian or “the indigenous languages of the European Union” can now be published in Ukraine.[10]

The Zelensky regime is also notoriously hostile to Christianity. [11] It openly supports abortion-on-demand and transgenderism and since last year it has been carrying out raids on churches and arresting clergymen on accusations of treason. State-sponsored soldiers in the Ukrainian capital have been seizing churches and monasteries, assaulting priests and monks of the canonical Orthodox Church, and forcibly installing members of the new pro-government sect in the holy places.[12]

Is this the sort of “democracy” worthy of support?

Due to funds being used to support the Zelensky regime, Europe’s economies are rapidly deteriorating and living standards are plummeting.^[1] Europe is now facing a record depreciation of the euro currency when compared to the past 20 years.^[2] A considerable number of European companies are on the verge of bankruptcy. Following catastrophic electricity and heating bills, Europe’s population is facing mass unemployment and a dramatic decline in living standards.

In the United Kingdom, 60 per cent of all enterprises are on the verge of closing due to higher electricity prices. Thirteen percent of British factories have reduced its working hours and 7 per cent of all these factories are temporarily closed down. Electricity bills have risen by more than 100 per cent over the last two years.^[3] The natural consequence will be mass business closures and rising unemployment in that country.

And the Germans are equally unable to avoid recession. According to the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research, the number of firms that went bankrupt in August last year alone rose 26 percent compared to the same period in the previous year.^[4]  “A German crisis would be a crisis for all of Europe, one that would rock the entire European Union and the many economies that surround it”, says Weimin Chen, a research assistant at the Austrian Economics Center.^[5]

Arguably, the war in Ukraine also serves to deflect the attention of the American people from their domestic problems.^[6] Steve Forbes, the chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine, believes that the United States is already facing a recession that makes “people poorer”.^[7] According to Nouriel Roubini, emeritus professor of economics at the New York University, it is “delusional” to expect a “short and mild” recession rather one that will be “long and severe”.^[8]

Australia is currently experiencing a rather serious cost-of-living crisis. Prices are increasing much faster than wages, which are not much higher than in 2013. In addition to the substantial increase in the price of groceries and petrol, the cost of energy has now become prohibitively high.  The present energy crisis is the culmination of a global gas shortage, high coal prices and ageing coal-fired power stations, as well as an irresponsible transition to unreliable “renewable” energy.

Nonetheless, Australia’s total support for the Ukrainian regime has now climbed to A$790 million (US$520 million).[9] This is the biggest contribution by a non-NATO nation, and more support than offered by some 30 nations who are actually members of the 32-country grouping devoted to Europe’s defence.[10]

On June 26, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Australia will “continue to support the war effort as long as necessary”. “We will continue to work collaboratively with our partners, we are continuing to train Ukrainian forces in the United Kingdom, and we’ll continue to engage with Ukraine for as long as it takes to support President Zelensky”, he said.[11]

Of course, if the goal is to stop the war and prevent any further bloodshed, providing financial and military support to a notoriously corrupt regime, as well as engaging in passionate displays of affection for its woke dictator, is certainly not the way to do it. But the desire to manipulate the masses has become insatiable and politicians seem to care very little about the tragic consequences of blatant government misinformation.

How long will Australians and other “westerners” continue supporting the Zelensky regime in Ukraine and be willing to cope with crippling shortages of oil and gas, as well as spiralling inflation, soaring electricity bills, food shortages and high unemployment rates?

Be part of the solution

This content is produced and published without censorship or paywall by the team at The Good Sauce, thanks to Good Sauce Supporters. If you’d like to be part of the independent media solution by helping us produce more content like this, become a Good Sauce supporter today.