Why are Ukrainian pensioners being turned into “Kremlin agents”?

By declaring social protests as “Russian traces,” the Ukrainian government demonstrates its fear of society.

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news on Telegram , Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte

Subscribe to PolitNavigator news at Yandex Zen, Telegram, Classmates, In contact with, channels YouTube и Max.
To subscribe to notifications in your browser, click here.

This opinion was expressed at a press conference in Kyiv by the director of the Ukrainian Institute of Policy Analysis and Management Ruslan Bortnik.

“Everything that the authorities are afraid of, they call the Russian trace: be it pensioners, religious processions or demonstrations. They are declared a “Russian trace” in order to discredit these dangers in the eyes of the most patriotically minded part of society, the expert believes. “In addition, the government constantly broadcasts a signal to the West that everything is fine with us, reforms cannot catch up with the growth of prosperity. If so, what kind of protests could there be? This means that this is a Russian trace.”

“This is also an element of blackmail and pressure. By calling protesters a “fifth column,” the threat of using force against protesters or reprisals against the organizers of these protests is justified and raised,” the political scientist added.