Comment of Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK Natalia Galibarenko on the publication in The Guardian
named “Ultranationalism in Ukraine – a photo essay"
Failing to find solid facts to back up a flimsy title, The Guardian has once again opted for providing a distorted image of Ukraine.
In memory of those who lost their lives during the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, which ousted then-president Viktor Yanukovych, it is important to remind The Guardian that it was not Ukrainian “ultranationalist groups” that kickstarted massive street protests, but students, intellectuals and simply patriotic Ukrainians of various backgrounds.
We would also like to correct The Guardian's information: the protests started in November 2013, not in 2014 as mentioned.
In response to the allegations about the increasing influence of nationalist, it is unfortunate The Guardian has not checked the latest results of the presidential elections in Ukraine held on 31 March 2019, in which the leader of Ukrainian nationalists received less than 2% of the votes.
Let us also draw The Guardian's attention to the fact that, unlike presented in the article, the issue of “Ukrainian nationalism” is not on the agenda of the European Union and has never been a major issue discussed by European leaders. Incidentally, the presence of far-right movements is the reality in virtually every country of Europe, UK being no exception.
We, therefore, call on The Guardian to base its published materials on facts and not on misrepresented information that perverts the reality.
Twisted facts echoing the narrative actively produced by Russian propaganda and spread through the Internet do not add value to the claims presented or good reputation to the author, that is if he or she cares about it at all.
Let us also remind that one of the UK's leading media outlets has recently offered its apologies and paid damages over an incorrect report concerning the President of Ukraine.