The Betrayal of Ukraine: Putin’s Propaganda, Trump’s Policies, and the Fight for Truth

In recent weeks, I’ve noticed a shift in my digital landscape that feels both subtle and alarming. My facebook feeds have suddenly become flooded with Russian propaganda, anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, and suggested profiles from Russian embassies and foreign ministries. This isn’t random – it’s a calculated infiltration of the algorithms that shape our perception of reality, happening precisely as Ukraine was making genuine headway against Russia’s aggression – particularly on the Eastern Front (an observation made by many fighting there presently).

The Frontlines of Truth

People on the frontlines are witnessing a disturbing pattern. As Ukraine began pushing back on multiple fronts and Russia’s economy showed signs of collapse, Trump’s actions have increasingly aligned with Russia’s strategic interests. This isn’t coincidental timing – it’s a deliberate response to Putin’s growing desperation.

Let me be clear: Russia started this war. Russia continues this war with daily attacks on civilians. Russia has violated multiple agreements and ceasefires. Russian leaders have explicitly stated they have no intention to negotiate or implement a ceasefire – their sole objective is Ukrainian capitulation.

Yet somehow, in this distorted narrative being pushed across our screens, Ukraine is portrayed as the aggressor that must concede – territory, minerals, dignity – while Russia faces no consequences for its actions. Has Trump even once mentioned the kidnapped Ukrainian children? Has he demanded the return of imprisoned civilians being tortured? No. The aggressor walks free while the victim is told to surrender.

The Policy Shift That Benefits Moscow

The policy changes have been swift and alarming. Trump has:

• Immediately halted all military support to Ukraine – stopping shipments midway
• Ended Intelligence sharing critical for air defence and early warnings
• Signalled willingness to lift sanctions on Russia
• Expressed openness to allowing Russia back into the G7
• Potentially nullified the 10-year security agreement signed with Ukraine

Without early warning systems and air defence, countless more innocent civilians will die in missile and drone attacks. This isn’t peace-building – it’s abandonment.

The Digital Battlefield

My grandfather fought in an information war against Soviet propaganda decades ago. He wrote for underground anti-Soviet papers on his typewriter in Australia, smuggling leaflets into occupied Ukraine. He battled the original “Pravda” newspaper– the Russian word for “truth” – that he knew was nothing but lies.

What was once a fight with pocket knives has gone nuclear. A recent NewsGuard investigation revealed a Moscow-based disinformation network – also named “Pravda” – deliberately infiltrating AI chatbots with pro-Kremlin falsehoods. Their strategy isn’t to target human readers directly but to corrupt the very systems we’re increasingly relying on for information.

The scale is staggering: 3.6 million propaganda articles in 2024 alone, published at a rate of over 20,000 pieces every 48 hours. This isn’t random content – it’s deliberately optimised to appear in search results and training data for AI models. As Moscow-based American fugitive John Mark Dougan boasted, “By pushing these Russian narratives from the Russian perspective, we can actually change worldwide AI.”

The effectiveness is chilling. NewsGuard found that leading AI chatbots repeated false narratives from this network 33 percent of the time. What my grandfather fought against with a typewriter now spreads through algorithms and neural networks, infecting our collective understanding at unprecedented speed and scale.

Regime Change and Power Politics

Meanwhile, Trump appears to be orchestrating what his administration always accused others of doing – attempting regime change in a sovereign nation. He reportedly met with Zelensky’s opposition to push for elections during a temporary ceasefire, hoping to install someone more amenable to Russia’s demands.

The plan makes little sense beyond its obvious purpose – Zelensky maintains a commanding lead in polls, with the only close competitors being even more hawkish toward Russia. The Ukrainian people overthrew a Russian puppet government in 2014 during the Maidan Revolution. They won’t willingly return to subjugation.

Fortunately, the opposition leaders have publicly backed Zelensky and rejected elections during wartime, showing the unity Ukraine desperately needs.
Latest polling results for Ukrainian presidential candidates

The Personal Toll

Last night, I received a message that cut through the political analysis and struck my heart directly. A young man I met volunteering with Banner of Love church, helping children in de-occupied villages, sent me a simple greeting for the first time in a year. When I asked how he was, he responded with a photo of himself in a trench: “I’m at war. I’ve become a combat medic.”

Andriy – from youth worker to combat medic

This gentle soul who worked so beautifully with traumatised children is now risking his life on the frontlines. He’s not conscription age – I can only guess he chose this path after witnessing the horrors in his hometown of Bucha, including photos of the basement filled with bodies and the violated body of a nine-year-old girl. He’s fighting to protect his family and friends from suffering the same fate.

And America is not only abandoning him and others like him but actively aiding those who brought this violence to his doorstep.

My Grandfather’s Warning

My grandfather wrote a historical novel about Ukraine’s fight for independence in the 1920s, intended as a warning about the critical importance of unity.

In his prologue, he wrote: “I resurrected the heroes of this narrative from their bloody graves not for judgment or condemnation, not for praise or justification, but for historical truth — to caution the Ukrainian people against making mistakes in the subsequent struggles for the independence of the Ukrainian state.”

In the book, the character Shchus warns: “And the fact that you’re anarchists is just a tragedy for our country! Right now, you’re fighting the Ukrainian government, but by doing so, you weaken both yourselves and the government, and a foreign government will take advantage and impose its own yoke and chains on you, which will be a hundred times heavier than the yoke of your own national government.”

Nearly sixty years after he began writing, his book has finally been published in both English and Ukrainian, with all profits supporting medical and humanitarian aid in Ukraine. The warnings from a century ago echo with painful relevance today.  You can find out more about the book and how to purchase HERE. 

And my Ukrainian friends – now more than ever you must remain united and not let disinformation try to sow chaos and division.

Standing on the Right Side of History

I don’t expect Ukraine to be everyone’s passion or primary concern, though given its global impact, perhaps it should be. But what I cannot accept is anyone cheering for Russia or condemning Ukraine based on deliberate disinformation.

We laugh at those who believed Hitler’s propaganda films showing Auschwitz as a holiday camp – yet many today are equally deceived by sophisticated digital manipulation. The tactics have evolved, but the moral imperative remains the same: to recognise truth amid deliberate distortion.