Volodymyr Zelensky ‘s interview with Le Parisien was manipulated by some Italian newspapers, such as Il Fatto Quotidiano, which shamefully spoke of a declared ‘surrender’ by the president of Ukraine. This narrative is totally false and betrays both the reality of the Ukrainian head of state’s statements and his duty of honesty towards his readers. As Paolo Gentiloni rightly noted in his tweet: “I learn from two or three Italian newspapers of a ‘Zelensky surrender’. And to think I had missed it’.

Zelensky’s actual words

Volodymyr Zelensky, in the interview, showed pragmatism, but never surrender. He made it clear that although Ukraine does not have the strength today to retake Donbass and Crimea militarily, this does not mean that it gives up its sovereignty: ‘We cannot give up our territories. The Ukrainian Constitution forbids us to do so. We can only count on diplomatic pressure from the international community to force Putin to come to the negotiating table.”

There are no signs of surrender, but a precise denunciation of the difficulties imposed by the slowness and inadequacy of Western support: “Why, from the very beginning of the war, have we not received massive supplies of weapons? […] We need more air defence systems, more physical protection, but also more ways to strike Russia at long range.”

In this regard, it is impossible not to consider the fact that, from the very first days of the Russian invasion, Zelensky had called for an air shield to protect his country from Russian missile and air attacks. A measure that the West should have offered immediately, but was instead delayed, leaving Ukraine vulnerable and fuelling the precarious balance of a war of attrition. https://www.amazon.it/music/unlimited?tag=europafutura-21This lack of decisiveness has had a devastating impact on Ukraine’s ability to react quickly and has contributed to prolonging the conflict.

Reality and pro-Russian propaganda

The Italian newspapers that spoke of surrender deliberately ignore an essential fact: Vladimir Putin’s real goal was to conquer the whole of Ukraine in three days, overthrow the democratically elected government and replace it with a puppet executive. Three years later, Ukraine is holding out, demonstrating a strength that has surprised the world. As Zelensky said: ‘Putin is like a boomerang: he keeps coming back until he gets what he wants. […] For the first time in thirty years of power, a country is resisting him.”

To call this picture surrender is not only false, but also dangerous. It is clear that those who spread this narrative – like Il Fatto Quotidiano – should be enumerated in the category of ‘Putin’s puppets’, as Mario Draghi called them in a famous press conference at Palazzo Chigi. Their pro-Russian agenda is not the result of superficiality, but of a precise choice, which betrays both readers and democratic values. We do not venture to speculate on the ideal or less than ideal motivations for this choice: we are confident that sooner or later we will learn more, in Italy and the rest of Europe.

A call for truth

The war in Ukraine is not over and Zelensky continues to be a symbol of resistance and determination. Those who follow Ukrainian political dynamics closely tell of a Zelensky who is most likely destined to lose the next presidential election, when there is one. This is the difficulty of democracy, the one that even led to Winston Churchill’s electoral rejection after World War II. A model that Zelensky knows and lives by, while the Kremlin’s tenant does not.

Zelensky’s words are unequivocal: “No matter how many presidents or prime ministers want to declare an end to the war, we will not surrender.” Talk of surrender not only distorts reality, but also plays into Putin’s hands, which aims to weaken international support for Ukraine.

We appeal to our readers: check, read the original sources, expose those who manipulate reality to feed Kremlin propaganda. Zelensky did not surrender, and Ukraine certainly did not. But part of the Italian press has, some even before February 2022; sacrificing journalistic integrity to serve an agenda that is neither in the interest of our country nor European democracy.