The Israel-Gaza war is “taking away the focus” from the conflict in Ukraine, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted.

He said this was “one of the goals” of Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

And he denied that fighting in Ukraine had reached a stalemate, despite a recent assessment to this effect by the country’s top military general.

Ukraine’s counter-offensive in the south has so far made little headway.

This has prompted fears of war fatigue among Kyiv’s Western allies, with suggestions of growing reluctance in some capitals to continue giving Ukraine advanced weapons and funds.

      • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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        1 year ago

        “he supported the ethnic cleansing and genocide that Israel is committing in Palestine.”

        You can’t make a blatantly inflammatory comment like that without being asked to source it.

        https://www.axios.com/2023/10/11/zelensky-israel-hamas-war-gaza-visit-netanyahu

        "Zelensky was one of the first leaders to call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and express support for Israel.

        “In the face of such a terrorist strike, everyone who values life must stand in solidarity … Israel has the full right to defend itself against terror,” Zelensky said in a statement shortly after the attack."

        It’s a bit of a leap to go from that to full on support for ethnic cleansing.

          • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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            1 year ago

            That is not the same as calling for ethnic cleansing.

            Someone punches you in the face, you have a right to defend yourself. You don’t have a right to kill them, burn their house down, murder their entire family, and then take out the rest of the block “just to be sure”.

            • HotTakesColdUrine@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Okay devoid of all context and reality and focusing only on the rhetoric, you have a point.

              Now imagine if I commit a genocide while claiming a right to defend myself, like the Nazis did? How is that phrase being deployed in that historical example?

              If you claim a right to defend yourself while committing a genocide, it is in fact the same as calling for genocide.

                • HotTakesColdUrine@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  If you had asked them, they would have told you differently. They would have told you about the long and complicated history that brought them to that point and the necessity of their actions. They would have told you about the barbarism of their enemies and the atrocities they carried out.

                  • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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                    1 year ago

                    It doesn’t matter what they told you, it’s an objective truth that they were not being attacked by the groups they were seeking to exterminate.

          • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
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            1 year ago

            Saying Israel has the right to defend itself us not the same thing as your accusation of supporting ethnic cleansing.

            If you can source that accusation, I’m sure people would love to see it.

      • Einar@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Thought so.

        Means I can safely disregard your statements.