Ukrainian officials have fiercely condemned Russia’songoing invasion of their country— but Ukraine’s leaders say they draw a line betweenVladimir Putinand the soldiers at his command.
PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyygave a speech Thursday andreferred to captured Russian invadersas “confused children” who are perplexed about their mission.
“Our soldiers, our border guards, our territorial defense, even simple farmers are capturing Russian soldiers every day, and all of them are saying the same thing: They don’t know why they are here,'' he said,according toThe New York Times. “These are not warriors of a superpower. These are confused children who have been used.”
The messaging strategy can be seen as one more front in the war. This battle, though, is on the field of public relations — as both Ukraine and Russia make appeals to their citizens, their armies and the world at large.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.Presidency of Ukraine/Handout/Anadolu Agency/Getty
A recent viral video underlines the competing narratives: The post, which has racked up millions of views on Twitter, appears to show Ukrainian citizens treating a Russian soldier with compassion.
The tearful soldier, dressed in camouflage fatigues, is seen in the footage eating and sipping tea as a young woman with purple hair holds up a phone so he can apparently speak with his mother back home in Russia.
The video in Luxmoore’s post has nearly 6 million views.
BuzzFeed News correspondent Christopher Miller alsoshared video of the moment on Twitter, where it’s been viewed more than a million times.
“Remarkable video circulating on Telegram. Ukrainians gave a captured Russian soldier food and tea and called his mother to tell her he’s ok. He breaks down in tears. Compare the compassion shown here to Putin’s brutality,” Miller wrote.
According to Insider’stranslation of the footage, the caller tells a woman on the phone named Natasha, “Everything is fine,” as the soldier breaks down in tears.
“Everything is fine, son. Everything is fine,” the voice on the phone reportedly says.
“How can I get him back?” the caller asks, per the footage.
Russian soldiers.EyePress News/Shutterstock
Such interactions have a strategic value, Ukrainian officials believe. The country’s Defense Ministry postedinstructions on Facebookfor “the thousands of miserable Russian mothers” to let them know how they can pick up their sons who’ve been captured in Ukraine.
“Decision was made to give Russian soldiers taken captive back to their mothers if they come for them in Ukraine, in Kyiv,” says the Facebook post, which includes phone numbers that may be used to confirm “whether your son is in captivity or died.”
Ukraine is also sharing photos and footage of captured and dead Russian soldiers on various social media platforms, including images that are extremely graphic of corpses that have been bloodied, burned, mangled or torn apart,The Washington Postreports.
The content, which depicts the horrors of a war that began only a week ago, is part of a campaign to cultivate resistance in Russia to President Putin, who ordered the invasion.
As thePostpoints out, the practice could be in violation of theGeneva Conventions, which establish international legal standards for the humane treatment of captives during war.
“Prisoners of war must at all times be protected,” according to Article 13 of the Conventions, “particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.”
Russian invasion of Ukraine.SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty
Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
The invasion has drawn condemnation around the world andincreasingly severe economic sanctionsagainst Russia.
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. President Zelenskyy called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend. “Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
