A Ukrainian disinformation agency this month published a “blacklist” of individuals considered “enemies of the state” for promoting “Russian propaganda.”
Individuals named on the list include:
- Senator Rand Paul (R-KY)
- Former US Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
- Military analyst Edward Luttwak
- Economist Jeffrey Sachs
- Former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter
- Retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor
- University of Chicago Professor John Mearsheimer
- Award-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald
- French opposition leader Marine Le Pen
- Italian General Leonardo Tricarico
Rand and Mearsheimer were supposedly added to the list for claiming that NATO/President Biden’s support for Ukraine’s inclusion in NATO provoked Russia into invading Ukraine.
Luttwak was added for his suggestion that referendums be held in the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
“I hope somebody in Kiev tells whomever it may concern that their enemies list needs serious scrutiny,” tweeted Luttwak. “I know because I am on it, even though from Day 1 I have pressed for max support (weapons not words) for the Ukraine & personally lobbied MoDs. A fool misread something I wrote.”
Gabbard described the blacklist as an example of Ukraine’s “hypocrisy” and accused Washington of impoverishing US citizens in the name of protecting democracy and defeating autocracy in Ukraine despite a lack of the former in the Eastern European nation. “All of this is happening as the Ukrainian president is frankly exposing that there is no democracy in Ukraine,” said Gabbard during an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s actions include “silencing any dissenting voices, imprisoning political opponents, banning all political activity from the 11 opposition parties, frankly taking control of all national media under his unified information policy, and now he’s turning his sights on Americans.”
In March, Gabbard warned of the presence of 20+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine and urged authorities to implement ceasefires around the labs until the deadly pathogens contained within could be destroyed.
Greenwald, who supports Gabbard’s claims about Ukrainian biolabs, described the blacklist as “standard McCarthyite idiocy” and said he didn’t “care at all about Ukraine’s attempts to shut down debate in our country by smearing journalists and politicians who are questioning US/NATO policy as being Russian propagandists.”
Ukraine has the right to pursue whatever war policies it wants, continued Greenwald, but “when they start demanding that my county and my government use its resources to fuel their war effort, then I, along with all other Americans, have the absolute right to question that policy or to point out its dangers and risks.”
The blacklist was published by the Kiev-linked Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, which was founded last year by President Zelensky for the express purpose of studying the impact of Russian disinformation.
Author’s Note: This will p*** off a lot of people. Money is flowing from the US but it may slow down now. This was a stupid decision that will make Ukraine enemies at a time when it needs allies.
Editor’s Note: This is ESPECIALLY stupid given that Republicans will likely take Congress in a few months.
Sources:
Ukraine Issues Blacklist of ‘Russian Propagandists,’ Includes US Senator & Prominent Journalists
Tulsi Gabbard, Rand Paul Placed on List of Russian Propagandists by Ukraine