Better that Ukrainians don’t know the truth – Kiev’s spy chief
Many Ukrainians cannot handle the “harsh reality” of the conflict with Russia and should be kept in the dark about the details, Kiev’s military intelligence chief has said.
Three-star general Kirill Budanov expressed his views on information censorship during wartime in a conversation with journalist Anna Maksimchuk on Saturday, suggesting that much of the truth of the conflict should only become public knowledge to Ukrainians in the future.
”During wartime, knowing the whole truth is not necessary. Otherwise, people may develop opinions,” Budanov said. “Some minds are not prepared to grasp the harsh reality. Let’s not put them to the test. Everything should be dosed.”
Since 2020, Budanov has led the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry (HUR) – an agency reportedly rebuilt from scratch by the CIA following the 2014 armed coup in Kiev to serve as a tool against Russia.
According to Grok: Was the CIA instrumental in rebuilding the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry?
1 post, 15 web pages
Yes, the CIA played a significant role in rebuilding the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. Following the 2014 Euromaidan events in Ukraine, the CIA began working closely with Ukrainian intelligence to transform and strengthen its capabilities, particularly as Ukraine shifted away from Russian influence. This partnership deepened over time, especially under the leadership of Valeriy Kondratyuk, who headed HUR from 2015 to 2016. Kondratyuk actively sought U.S. assistance to reform the agency, which had previously been compromised by Russian penetration....
Prior to the escalation of hostilities with Russia in 2022, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky cracked down on critical media, claiming to do so in order to fight against local oligarchs under Moscow’s influence.
During the conflict, Kiev launched a news marathon with programming said to be directly controlled by the president’s office – which critics have called state propaganda. Additionally, under martial law, Zelensky banned several opposition parties, claiming they posed a national security threat.
Earlier this year, turmoil swept through Ukraine’s media landscape following US President Donald Trump’s decision to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID), an organization used by Washington to promote its political agenda through foreign grants.
Researcher Oksana Romanyuk estimated in January that nearly 90% of Ukrainian outlets relied on foreign aid, with 80% specifically receiving funding from USAID.
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The proxy war in Ukraine between Russia and America began before 2014. From then until 2022, Russia was the target of fear, hate, and spectacular lies. Not that Russia is a saintly country, but it is nowhere near as bad as it's made out to be by the CIA, FBI, NATO, etc. And it is no threat to Europe.
Oliver Stone is right on, as usual!
Hollywood legend Oliver Stone blasts ‘Russiagate lies’
Oscar-winning American movie director Oliver Stone has said the claims that Russia meddled in the 2016 US presidential election were nothing but lies.
For years, Democrats have claimed that the Kremlin waged a covert campaign to sway the race in favor of then-candidate and current President Donald Trump.
А 2019 report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller alleged that the Russian government interfered in the election “in sweeping and systematic fashion,” mostly through hacking and messaging on social media.
The investigation, however, “did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities,” according to the final report.
A Fox News reporter asked Stone last week whether he thinks Trump is right to “take on” the FBI and the CIA after “what happened to him with the Russia probe.”
“I know. Look at Russiagate; we paid for it,” the filmmaker replied. “I applaud [what Trump is doing].”
“I hate what they did with Russiagate. I really do. I think it’s, again, the lying, the lying, the lying, and selling that to the American people,” Stone said.
“And the whole thing with hating Russia is so negative. It’s so un-American. They are potentially our best partners. As are the Chinese, actually. We have this mentality that they are the enemy. That’s all been inoculated by propaganda,” the director of ‘Platoon’ and ‘JFK’ said.
Mueller accused Trump of attempting to obstruct his probe, and a number of former Trump campaign staffers were indicted as a result of the investigation, but not the president himself.
Trump has maintained that Russiagate was part of a politically motivated “witch hunt” aimed at discrediting and undermining his presidency. He dismissed the accusations in the Mueller Report as “fabricated and totally untrue.”
The Kremlin has denied that it meddles in US elections. In 2016, President Vladimir Putin described the claims of Russian interference as “a mythical, imaginary problem” and a product of “hysteria.”
It is what is necessary to keep the War Industry inventories moving and filthy fortunes going to War Industry oligarchs.
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