Undermining support for Kyiv by portraying Zelenskyy as “incapable of negotiating”

What it claims

Talks involving the United States, Russia and Ukraine are cast as proof that Zelenskyy is supposedly being excluded from decisions and that Kyiv is being prepared for capitulation. Military difficulties, debates over mobilisation and anti-corruption investigations are reduced to a picture of him losing control and partners’ support. His position on security guarantees is labeled as unwillingness to negotiate.

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.

• Washington is preparing to impose terms on Kyiv without Zelenskyy and end support if he refuses.

  Женщина с косой, 3 Sept 2026 · Archived copy

• US contacts with Moscow are meant to show that Zelenskyy is blocking an agreement and making direct talks with Russia more advantageous.

  Украина. Спецоперация. Мониторинг СВО, 10 Sept 2026 · Archived copy

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Goal

To encourage Western officials to view Ukraine’s leadership as an unreliable partner and to justify reducing support for Ukraine.

Techniques used

• Causal OversimplificationMilitary difficulties, mobilisation and investigations are portrayed as joint proof that Zelenskyy is losing power and external support.
• DoubtUnverified leaks about a conversation between Trump and Putin are presented as grounds to presume an agreement to end aid to Ukraine.

The real grievance it exploits

Western officials’ concern about the cost of support, the course of negotiations and the Ukrainian leadership’s ability to make difficult decisions during the war.

How to counter

• Fact-check: US representatives held talks in both Moscow and Kyiv; the fact of such contacts does not confirm an agreement to end support or exclude Ukraine from negotiations.
• Technique exposure: Combining reports about mobilisation, investigations and negotiations into one storyline replaces checking each claim with an assumption of a secret common plan.

Sources (all time)

• Украина. Спецоперация. Мониторинг СВОTier 115,818 subscribers
  2 posts · 9–10 Sept 2026

  • 10 Sept · Archived copy
  • 9 Sept · t.me/MonitoringUA/95059
• Женщина с косойTier 1101,441 subscribers
  1 post · 3 Sept 2026

  • 3 Sept · Archived copy