Narratives in Media Coverage of Ukraine

Military Transport Plane Crash in Russia

• A military transport plane crashed in Russia.  The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of shooting down the plane while knowing that there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war onboard.  Ukraine has said that Russia has provided no credible evidence to support its claims and has called for an international investigation of the event, raising questions about who was on board and how the plane crashed. (NBC News; see also Politico, Politico, Reuters, AP News, AP News, AP News, Euractiv)

Implications of Another Trump Presidency

• The approaching U.S. election has raised international questions and concerns about continuing U.S. commitment to Ukraine during a possible second Trump administration.  Skepticism in the United States has grown among Republicans over continuing to provide aid to Ukraine with disputes between Republicans from the House of Representatives and President Biden about U.S. border policy and international aid. (NBC News; see also AP News, Euractiv).
• President Zelenskyy warned of the dangers posed by another Trump administration and said that Trump’s previous claims about being able to stop the war in 24 hours were “very dangerous.” (AP News; see also Politico, Euractiv)
• For the first time, the Biden administration has not been able to provide military aid to Ukraine without the support of Congress.  While the Biden administration looks to secure more aid for Ukraine, the United States is looking to Ukraine’s other allies to fill the gap. (AP News)

Turkey Approves Sweden’s NATO Accession

• Turkish President Erdogan signed Sweden’s NATO accession into law, a bid prompted after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  Hungary remains the only NATO member not to have ratified Sweden’s application to the military alliance. (Politico)  
• International pressure is growing on Hungary to approve Sweden’s NATO accession, but Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán is not showing signs of speeding up the process. (Politico; see also Reuters)

Ukraine Calls Out HBO for Casting Pro-Putin Actor

• Ukraine called out HBO for casting Milos Bikovic, a Serbian actor, in the TV show The White Lotus Season 3.  Bikovic has Russian citizenship, rose to fame in Russia, and has previously expressed support for Russian President Putin’s occupation of Crimea and full-scale invasion of Ukraine. (Politico)  

International Aid and Support for Ukraine

• German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius says he does not know about previously reported plans for a German-U.K. missile swap.  In the plans, reported in the German newspaper Handelsblatt, the U.K. would give Ukraine Storm Shadow cruise missiles in exchange for German Taurus missiles. (Politico)  
• France will give 12 Caesar self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine after France was accused of not providing enough weapons to Kyiv. (Politico; see also AP News)
• NATO signed a $1.2 billion contract to make tens of thousands of artillery rounds to supply to Ukraine (AP News). 
• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited Kyiv, reaffirming Polish commitment to aid Ukraine.  Tusk said that he and Zelenskyy had reached “an understanding” to resolve differences between their countries on grain shipments and trucking (AP News). 

• Ukraine’s allies continue to look for ways to steer frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.  Officials in multiple countries are debating the legality of sending $300 billion in Russian Central Bank money to Ukraine.  Zelenskyy called for the frozen assets in Western banks to “be directed towards defense against the Russian war and for reconstruction” of Ukraine (AP News).
• Lithuania’s Foreign Minister said the West must change its message from supporting Ukraine for “as long as it takes” to “whatever victory takes” in order to deter Russia from attacking Baltic states as well (Euractiv). 

Ukraine Strike on Russian Oil Refinery

• Ukraine has increased strikes inside Russian territory with a drone attack on a Russian oil refinery (Politico; see also AP News, Euractiv). 

British Army Chief Warning to U.K. Citizens

• The chief of the British army said British citizens should be ready to serve in the military in the case of war with Russia and called on British authorities to “mobilize the nation” (Politico). 

Slovakia’s Controversial Remarks

• Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that “there’s no war in Kyiv” and that life in Kyiv is “absolutely normal” (Politico). 
• He also said that Ukraine is not a sovereign country (Euractiv).
• Fico said that the only way to end the war would be if Ukraine gave up territory to Russia.  In response, Ukraine dismissed Fico’s comments and said “no security in Ukraine means no security in Slovakia or Europe as a whole” (Politico; see also Politico).
• Despite negative rhetoric towards Ukraine, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Fico will continue to support Ukraine’s accession to the EU and will not block the EU’s financial aid (Euractiv). 

Oscar Nomination for Ukrainian Documentary Film

• A documentary about the first days of Russia’s invasion of Mariupol was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film in this year’s Oscars awards ceremony (Politico; see also AP News).

Russian Missile Attack

• Russia launched 41 missiles at Ukraine, 21 of which were intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses.  In Kyiv, one person was killed and 22 were wounded.  In Kharkiv, five people were killed and over 48 were injured. (Politico; see also Euractiv)
• The UN warns that Russia’s attacks against Ukraine have sharply increased civilian casualties in the last month. (AP News)

Cooperation Between Russia and North Korea

• Putin is considering traveling to Pyongyang to visit North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. (Politico).  

Ukrainian Invitation to Chinese President Xi

• Ukraine invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to a “peace summit” in Switzerland.  China has close ties with Russia and has avoided criticising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but has also said that it is willing to help mediate the conflict. (Reuters; see also AP News, Euractiv)

World Court on Ukraine Case Against Russia

• The World Court will rule on a case “in which Ukraine has accused Russia of violating an anti-terrorism treaty by funding pro-Russian forces, including militias who shot down a passenger jet, and discrimination.” (Reuters)

Fraud in Weapons Procurement

• Ukraine’s security service said that it had uncovered mass procurement fraud, totaling about $40 million. (Reuters; see also AP News, Euractiv, Le Soir)

Worries from UN Refugee Chief

• The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said that he’s worried that Ukraine has been forgotten and that it’s essential for the international community to remember the brutality facing Ukraine despite other conflicts in the world (AP News).

Russia Rules Out Peace Plan

• Russia’s foreign minister ruled out a peace plan for Ukraine while clashing with Ukraine’s supporters at a U.N. meeting. (AP News)

New Ukrainian Nuclear Power Reactors

• Energy Minister German Galushchenko said Ukraine is expected to start construction on four new nuclear power reactors to make up for lost energy capacity from the war with Russia. (Euractiv)

Ukrainian Citizens Support EU Citizenship Despite Russian Disinformation

• Russia has attempted to spread narratives of doubtful Ukraine EU membership.  These attempts have largely failed, as Ukrainians remain in favor of EU accession. (Euractiv)

Zelenskyy Praises Ukrainian Diaspora for their Support

• Zelenskyy thanked the Ukrainian diaspora for their support and proposed changes to the constitution that would allow for dual citizenship. (Euractiv)

Author: Sophie Adams-Smith, Media Analyst, Promote Ukraine