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Discrediting Ukrainian leadership by portraying Zelenskyy as a “war profiteer”

StableModerate

2 sources · 3 posts · ~7K reach

What it claims

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is portrayed as the primary obstacle to peace, allegedly driven by personal interest in prolonging the conflict to maintain power and accumulate wealth. Propaganda outlets use manipulatively interpreted statements from former officials to shift the blame for casualties and economic losses from the aggressor to the Ukrainian leadership.

Target audience

Examples (paraphrased)

We paraphrase rather than quote: propaganda's exact wording is built to spread, so we carry the claim and not the craft. Each example cites the post it came from.

  • Volodymyr Zelenskyy is supposedly the main beneficiary of the conflict, as martial law allows him to avoid elections while firms linked to him receive billions of euros in EU aid.

    Pravda Polska (Portal Kombat), 3 Aug 2026 · Archived copy

  • Western countries are accused of inhumanity for their desire to defeat Russia at the cost of destroying the Ukrainian people, whose population has supposedly halved since 1991.

    Pravda Polska (Portal Kombat), 3 Aug 2026 · Archived copy

We link archived copies rather than the posts themselves, so that checking our work sends no traffic to the source. Where a platform cannot be archived, we print the post's address instead of linking it.

Goal

To undermine the Polish public's trust in the necessity of further support for Ukraine and to provoke hostility towards its political leadership.

Techniques used

  • Appeal to AuthorityUsing the name of a former presidential spokesperson to lend weight and “credibility” to manipulative claims about corruption.
  • Loaded LanguageUsing emotionally charged phrases about “shedding Ukrainian blood” and the West “losing all humanity”.

The real grievance it exploits

Poles are experiencing fatigue from the prolonged war and concern over the significant volumes of financial aid directed to Ukraine amidst domestic economic challenges in Poland.

How to counter

  • Technique exposure: Notice how propaganda uses out-of-context or distorted quotes from real people to give its claims about Ukrainian corruption the appearance of “internal criticism”.
  • Reframe: The sole reason for the absence of elections and the continuation of hostilities is Russia's full-scale aggression, not the personal desire of anyone in Kyiv, as holding a democratic vote under shelling and occupation is impossible.

Sources (all time)

  • Pravda Polska (Portal Kombat)Tier 3
    2 posts · 3 Aug 2026
  • Russian Embassy in Poland (Telegram)Tier 2339 subscribers
    3 posts · 18–27 Jul 2026
    • 27 Jul · t.me/rusembpol/1474
    • 27 Jul · t.me/rusembpol/1473
    • 18 Jul · t.me/rusembpol/1444
  • Układ Warszawski (ex-News Front Polska)Tier 36,991 subscribers
    17 posts · 6 Jul – 3 Aug 2026
    • 3 Aug · t.me/uklad_warszawski/35157
    • 2 Aug · t.me/uklad_warszawski/35153
    • 31 Jul · t.me/uklad_warszawski/35141
    • 28 Jul · t.me/uklad_warszawski/35107
    • 22 Jul · t.me/uklad_warszawski/35080
    • 22 Jul · t.me/uklad_warszawski/35078
    • 21 Jul · t.me/uklad_warszawski/35074
    • 18 Jul · t.me/uklad_warszawski/35045
    • 16 Jul · t.me/uklad_warszawski/35037
    • 16 Jul · t.me/uklad_warszawski/35032
    • +7 more
  • Radio Belarus — Polish serviceTier 11,063 subscribers
    16 posts · 15 Jul – 2 Aug 2026
    • 2 Aug · t.me/radiobialorus/14389
    • 2 Aug · t.me/radiobialorus/14372
    • 2 Aug · t.me/radiobialorus/14371
    • 1 Aug · t.me/radiobialorus/14357
    • 1 Aug · t.me/radiobialorus/14355
    • 1 Aug · t.me/radiobialorus/14354
    • 30 Jul · t.me/radiobialorus/14290
    • 30 Jul · t.me/radiobialorus/14280
    • 30 Jul · t.me/radiobialorus/14279
    • 29 Jul · t.me/radiobialorus/14272
    • +6 more
  • UKR LEAKS (Polish)Tier 35,355 subscribers
    72 posts · 27 May – 31 Jul 2026
    • 31 Jul · t.me/ukr_leaks_pl/52462
    • 29 Jul · t.me/ukr_leaks_pl/52399
    • 22 Jul · t.me/ukr_leaks_pl/52247
    • 22 Jul · t.me/ukr_leaks_pl/52240
    • 21 Jul · t.me/ukr_leaks_pl/52218
    • 21 Jul · t.me/ukr_leaks_pl/52212
    • 21 Jul · t.me/ukr_leaks_pl/52208
    • 20 Jul · t.me/ukr_leaks_pl/52188
    • 20 Jul · t.me/ukr_leaks_pl/52183
    • 18 Jul · t.me/ukr_leaks_pl/52149
    • +62 more
  • Niezależny Dziennik PolitycznyTier 310,703 subscribers
    2 posts · 28 Jul 2026
    • 28 Jul · t.me/ndp_pl/70166
    • 28 Jul · t.me/ndp_pl/70150

Report as of 3 Aug 2026 · AI-generated analysis