Putin speaks of "denazification" of Ukraine and calls Zelenskyy "a disgrace to Jewish people"

Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, said that "his Jewish friends" call President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "a disgrace to the Jewish people."

Source: Putin at a plenary meeting during the St Petersburg Economic Forum (SPIEF), quoted by the Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti

Quote: "I have had many Jewish friends since childhood. They all say: ‘Zelenskyy is not a Jew, he is a disgrace to the Jewish people’."

Details: At the plenary meeting of the SPIEF, the Russians also showed a video about the alleged "atrocities committed by Banderites during the Great Patriotic War". [Binderite is a colloquial term for members and supporters of the faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists led by Stepan Bandera, who Russia claims to be targeting in Ukraine – ed.]

"These are the [people – ed.] considered heroes of Ukraine today. These are the [people] whom today's Ukrainian authorities protect as individuals and their ideology. How can you not fight this? We must fight this," the Russian president commented on the footage of Russian propaganda.

After that, the Russian dictator said that "Russia has every right to consider the denazification of Ukraine one of the main goals".

In February 2022, the Russian Federation declared "denazification and demilitarisation" of Ukraine as the main goals that justify its illegal invasion of Ukraine. Amongst all the narratives, Russian propaganda uses the fight against the mythical "Banderites" in Ukraine most actively. After that, the alleged "goals of the special military operation" to justify the war with Ukraine changed repeatedly in the rhetoric of the invaders. In June 2023, Putin made a controversial statement about the goals of Russia's attack on Ukraine: they are both changing and not changing at the same time. 

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