Leading the way is the article ‘What Russia should do with Ukraine’ by Ria Novosti, one of the major news agencies in Russia under the full control of the Kremlin. Ria Novosti states that “a significant part of the Ukrainian population, probably the majority” is in favor of a Nazi ideology. “The theory ‘the people are good, the government is bad’ no longer holds,” said Ria Novosti.
The article was published on Sunday as journalists found dead civilians and mass graves in liberated suburbs of Kyiv. Ukrainian President Zelensky accused Russia of genocide. Russia said the deaths only fell after the Russian army’s withdrawal, but that argument failed: An analysis of satellite images by The New York Times shows that the bodies in the suburb of Butja were already there during the Russian occupation.
President Putin has said so far that the invasion of Ukraine was intended to defend against “the regime in Kyiv” that he blames for the non-existent genocide of Russian citizens. “For that, we will pursue the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine,” Putin said in his war speech on Feb. 24.
State media now also excuse civilian deaths. As far as Ria Novosti is concerned, the Russian army no longer has to distinguish between Ukrainian army units and battalions made up of civilians when shelling. They are all guilty of ‘the genocide of the Russian population’, according to Ria Novosti. ‘Persistent Nazis’ must be ‘destroyed’, according to Ria Novosti. The remaining part of the Ukrainian population should be subjected to ‘re-education’.
The article does not stand alone. Vladimir Solovyov, one of the most famous presenters on Russian state television, breathed that there should be no negotiations with ‘Nazis’ and that withdrawal is not an option.
Anton Krasovski, a presenter of RT (formerly: Russia Today), said on his YouTube channel about Ukraine: ‘This country should not exist and we will do everything we can to make sure it does not exist.’ He addressed Ukrainians by saying: ‘I will personally be present at the burning of your nonsensical, so-called constitution. In the middle of Maidan Square.’
A change of tone on state media in Russia often portends a change in official policy. That also seems to be the case now. Dmitry Medvedev, former prime minister and now deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, wrote on his Telegram channel on Tuesday that “a passionate segment of Ukrainians for the past thirty years has been praying for the Third Reich.” In a less direct way than Ria Novosti, he also made it clear that civilians are being targeted in President Putin’s campaign to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine. ‘These complex tasks are not performed all at once. And they won’t just be solved on the battlefield.”
Also, Russia’s ambitions are not limited to Ukraine, Medvedev threatens. He describes Russia’s ultimate goal as the creation of ‘an open Eurasia, from Lisbon to Vladivostok’.