By Nadia Kaneva, University of Denver
When a preview of Vogue’s October 2022 cover story on Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska hit Twitter on July 26, 2022, reactions on social media were swift and polarized. Some critics said that a photo shoot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz for a fashion magazine was a “bad idea” and glamorized war.
Others lauded the magazine and Ukraine’s first lady for bringing awareness to the suffering of Ukrainians, five months after Russia first invaded its neighboring country.
In the cover photo, 44-year-old Zelenska wears a cream-colored blouse with rolled up sleeves, black trousers and flats. She sits on the stairs of the Ukrainian Parliament, leaning forward with hands intertwined between her knees. Her makeup is minimal, her hair casually tossed as she looks directly at the camera. Within hours Ukrainian women started using the hashtag #sitlikeagirl to share photos of themselves in the same pose as a show of solidarity.
Vogue’s profile of Zelenska, headlined “A Portrait of Bravery” and written by journalist Rachel Donadio, fits into a larger communication strategy, mounted by Ukraine’s government, that’s intended to keep the world focused on the country’s fight against Russian aggression. As part of that effort, Ukraine also initiated a nation branding campaign in April with the tagline “Bravery. To be Ukraine.”
As a communications scholar, I have studied how former communist countries like Ukraine have used marketing strategies to burnish their international reputations over the past two decades – a practice known as nation branding.
Ukraine, however, is the first country to launch an official nation branding campaign in the midst of war. For the first time, brand communication is a key part of a country’s response to a military invasion.
Nation branding and the end of communism
The idea that nations can be branded emerged at the beginning of the 21st century. This kind of work uses advertising, public relations and marketing techniques to boost countries’ international reputations. Campaigns are often timed to coincide with major sporting, cultural or political events – like the Olympics.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, formerly communist Eastern European countries were particularly eager to rebrand themselves and get an updated international image.
When Estonian musicians won the international singing competition Eurovision in 2001, Estonia became the first post-Soviet country to hold this prize. Subsequently, the country’s government hired an international advertising company to design a modern national brand for Estonia as it prepared to host Eurovision the following year.
Research has shown, however, that former communist countries’ nation branding efforts were not meant just for international consumption. They also provided a new way to talk about national identities at home, and re-imagine national values and goals, via marketing terms.
But until 2022, no country had used nation branding to fight a war.
‘Bravery is our brand’
Executives from the Ukrainian advertising agency Banda first pitched the idea for Ukraine’s Bravery Campaign to the government shortly after Russia invaded in February 2022. Based in Kyiv and Los Angeles, the agency had already worked before the war on government-sponsored campaigns, marketing Ukraine as a tourism and investment destination.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy endorsed the wartime branding campaign and publicly announced its launch on April 7, 2022, in a video address. “Bravery is our brand,” he stated. “This is what it means to be us. To be Ukrainians. To be brave.”
In the following months, Banda produced numerous messages in formats ranging from billboards, posters and online videos, to social media posts, T-shirts and stickers. A campaign website offers downloadable logos and photographs and asks visitors to share the message of bravery and donate to Ukraine.
Some billboards feature images of courageous, ordinary Ukrainians and soldiers. Other billboards are emblazoned with bold slogans in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag. They urge audiences to “Be brave like Ukraine” and say that “Bravery lives forever.”
Inside Ukraine, the campaign’s messages appear on everything from juice bottles to 500 billboards in 21 cities. The campaign is also running in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada and 17 countries in Europe, including Germany, Spain and Sweden, according to AdAge.
This massive communication effort is happening at a minimal cost to Ukraine. Banda is donating its services, and the Ukrainian government pays only for production costs. Media space, including high-profile billboards in Times Square and other major cities, was donated by several global media companies.
Branding as a weapon of war
Banda’s co-founder, Pavel Vrzheshch, has said the campaign aims to strengthen Ukrainians’ morale as they continue to fight Russia. But the focus on bravery is also about Ukraine’s future, he says.
“The whole world admires the Ukrainian bravery now, we must consolidate this notion and have it represent Ukraine forever,” Vrzheshch said in a media interview.
At its core, the campaign attempts to transform an intangible value, like bravery, into an asset that can be converted into real military, economic and moral support. In other words, it aims to cultivate positive public opinion in the West that will support further aid to Ukraine in order to help fight the war.
This way of using brand communication in a war is unprecedented in at least three ways.
First, rather than relying only on diplomatic channels to seek international support, Ukraine is harnessing popular media and social media networks to speak directly to citizens of other countries. It gives ordinary people around the world a chance to show solidarity through donations or by sharing campaign messages and pressuring their government to support Ukraine.
A formal brand campaign also allows Ukraine to extend the visibility of the war beyond news coverage. As the conflict continues, it is likely to fade from news headlines in international media. But billboards, social media posts and the strategic use of entertainment publications like Vogue can keep it in front of audiences.
Finally, the best brand messages connect with consumers by inviting them to imagine better versions of themselves. Famous ad slogans like Nike’s “Just do it” or Apple’s “Think different” illustrate this idea. So does Ukraine’s call to people around the world to “Be brave like Ukraine.”
It is notoriously difficult to measure the effectiveness of nation branding campaigns, as brand consultants point out. The process is costly and time-consuming, and results are often contested.
The direct impact of the Brave Campaign may not be clear for months to come. It is also not clear how long its message will continue to resonate. But it is clear that Ukraine is transforming nation branding into a new propaganda weapon, adapted for the age of consumer culture and constant media stimulation.
Nadia Kaneva is an Associate Professor at the University of Denver
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
“For the first time, brand communication is a key part of a country’s response to a military invasion.”
Huh?
The US, UK, France, and Poland to some extent, did it in WWII in response to threats of invasions from Germany and Japan (Japan actually invaded with troops -some Alaskan islands). The US did it in response to japans invasion by air at pearl harbor…France did it when Germany invaded and so did Poland.
The UK did it in response to German invasion by air with bombings and the V2 missiles.
“Ukraine, however, is the first country to launch an official nation branding campaign in the midst of war.”
And…again huh?
The US and UK did it all through WWII.
To Booger Brain
Your reading comprehension is non-existent. Nothing you mentioned had anything to do with the subject of the Ukraine advertising itself to get money through donations from both private and governmental entities and keep its war with Russia from being forgotten. The agenda of the U.S. and its Allies during WWII was another unrelated subject entirely. Ukraine stands alone while in WWII the Allies were a group of nations all dedicated to the destruction of the three Axis powers.
What .40 cal says is true.
What the cowardly asshole says is unimportant, and we do not hear his words.
@dacian
Once again your very evident lack of reading comprehension and context skills show your ignorance and set you off on yet another insane rant.
1. You obviously didn’t read and understand the article, and you ignored its context in big bold letters right in the article title which is “Advertising and Branding” which is further defined in the article in terms of ‘brand communication’.
2. You completely ignored the context of ‘ brand communication’.
to Booger Brain
Your reply was a complete failure to save face. Again the Allies all had boots on the ground while Ukraine stands alone that is why they keep advertising themselves so they keep getting munitions. Even a child could understand that and what they are doing has zero to do with what the Allies were engaged in during WWII. None of the Allied nations had to beg for munitions. You flunked history classes as well Booger brain.
“Ukraine stands alone while in WWII the Allies were a group of nations all dedicated to the destruction of the three Axis powers.”
The United States, Canada, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia , Australia, Japan, Argentina and South Korea are providing weapons, humanitarian support or other support to Ukraine against Russia.
If you are speaking if troops on the ground, then you we will understand your knowledge of the geopolitical implications is as faulty as your tactical understanding of well aimed fire vs precision fire.
Your Russian friends are taking a beating. I suppose that reset button sent us back to the cold war.
to Storm Trooper
quote————-If you are speaking if troops on the ground, then you we will understand your knowledge of the geopolitical implications is as faulty as your tactical understanding of well aimed fire vs precision fire.———quote
Amazing you finally and partially understood my post. Yes I was speaking of troops on the ground, even a 5th grader could have understood my post.
Amazing is how clueless you are in every subject you opine on here.
You do understand why there is a hesitancy to put boots on the ground? At least advertised boots.
Between the money and the arms, they are from being on their own against your friend.
Yes one question….why? There is no reason at all we should be involved as civilians. That’s the one reason we have government and the only thing they should do.
Just one more question… who is the FORMER communist country they’re referring to?
Maybe a rebranding to Communism 2.0 would be more accurate, like our own King Dribblecup.
This massive communication effort is happening at
a minimalzero cost to Ukraine. Banda is donating its services, and theUkrainian governmentAmerican taxpayer pays only for production costs.F Putin and F Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That said, congress approved $40 BILLION in aid to Ukraine back in May. How much of the U.S. tax payers money is being spent on ‘advertising’ instead of being used to kill invaders which in turn helps stop ‘human-caused-climate-change’?
None. They are being shipped actual arms, not $$. You can’t exactly buy artillery shells, howitzers, rifles, ammo, and anti-tank missiles on Amazon.
Unfortunately.
We can dream of the Amazon store that sells the good stuff.
” We can dream of the Amazon store that sells the good stuff “…. call it BATFE, your one-stop convenience store chain.
Do I smell a business opportunity?
I’d call it Amazin’.
Might have to wait until Bruen 2.0 for the IPO.
and when those arms are traded for $$?
The more Biden sends to Ukraine, the stronger the black market gets. Of course they are being sent money. Maybe it’s green backs and maybe it isn’t but it’s still money.
I can’t take a gold bar to pay for groceries at the local market but it’s still money.
Maybe about $10 B of the 40 promised will actually be sent there (mostly as weapons). Read the actual bill. It is more money laundering for the well-connected in Washington and has little to do with Ukraine. So far, there has been $40B promised; almost none of it delivered.
Also 10% was for the “big guy”.
Exactly. No doubt Zelenski’s off shore ‘private’ accounts makes him a comfortable Billionaire by now for doing such a fine job as a Deep State Military Industrial Complex shill.
And you can call it any bullshit marketing euphemism you want. It still winds up being the same thing it was from WWII to VietNam to every other hegemonic imperialistic fiasco war we were ever mind fucked into tolerating.
The wanton cannon fodder Murder of our best and brightest for Corporatist Globalist power and profiteering.
If he really cared for his people Zelenski should have surrendered five months and saved his citizens’ lives. While he still could have saved so many and his country’s historic value.
And everyone who voted for this Brandon administration is equally culpable.
And Ya’ll will have to try to live with that accursed stain on your souls forever.
You know who you are.
And everybody else is beginning ‘awaken’ to learn about you as well.
Who would have thought that Ukraine would have held out so well against Russia? I said this at the very start. Neither country was worthy of respect or admiration. But I believed Russia would roll over the Ukies.
Two Fascist nations going at it. Never would have believed it would look like this.
Jethro its obvious you only watch Fox News the disgrace of all U.S. News Media.
Free and Fair Elections
Ukraine’s president is directly elected by the people, while the country’s lawmakers are elected in both single-seat constituencies and through proportional representation.
The legislature chooses the prime minister by majority vote, and the president appoints members of the supreme court after they have been nominated by the Supreme Council of Justice.
The U.S. State Department found in its 2020 report on human rights practice in Ukraine that the 2019 election was fair.
READ MORE
Volodymyr Zelensky to Speak With China’s Xi Jinping ‘Very Soon’: Adviser
Russia Giving Up on Ousting Zelensky While Facing Struggles in War: Israel
After Russia’s Lengthy Warning Letter, Poland Looks to Expand Punishments
“In April 2019 Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president in an election considered free and fair by international and domestic observers,” that report said.
The State Department noted that in the same year, Ukraine held parliamentary elections “that observers also considered free and fair.”
https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-democracy-separating-fact-fiction-russia-1690505
You actually are that stupid, aren’t you, dacian? I get it. You hate me because I’m everything you’re not. But these childish and uneducated attacks on me just come across as pathetic.
I’m not sure that “stupid” is the proper term.
“Willfully ignorant,” perhaps. “Pathological liar,” certainly.
He called both Fascists’. He did not say there were not free and fair elections.
Beat that strawman, you’ll look like a hero.
When Dacian starts defending Ukraine, you KNOW he’s trying to cover the real dirt.
The US spent billions to install a puppet regime in Ukraine. Why? Not because Ukrainians asked for it.
Dacian is just mad one of his favorite countries, which is Russia, has been so thoroughly embarrassed. He’s only pro Ukraine now because it’s “cool” now.
Russia is the epicenter of communism and anti American philosophy. Dacian and his liberal ilk actually love Russia.
It just looks that way.
Ukraine would have been wiped out long ago if left to their own devices.
This is mostly about the war that the Washington Democrat left has been salivating for with Putin. It provides the prefect excuse to or Biden to burn through US resources and make it look like he is doing something righteous.
It’s an *excellent* opportunity for the US to burn off old munitions, and issue new contracts for fresh ammunition…
Ordinarily I would agree. But Biden doesn’t operate that way.
And test some new equipment in operation live-fire situation.
The Russian Army’s reputation has taken a big dip. Here’s why:
Wow.
That vid explains a *lot* of why Russia can’t perform in combat. That military budgets are a state secret explains how it’s self-perpetuating.
And that may be the same story with the Chinese army… 🙂
It should be noted that the American military has taken some serious hits under Biden too. What I’m seeing is that no ones military is all that strong compared to the way things used to be.
21st century propaganda is still propaganda…it’s just a new way of doing it.
k.
In other news, water is still wet.
Meh…the country that bribed Hunter n “the big guy” is not worthy of respect.
It was not the country nor the government, but a private gas company that was seeking to short circuit corruption investigations against its principals by the Ukraine government. Try again.
From the start, Ukraine has had the messaging down *cold*.
Look how they handled the messaging with Snake Island, a spit of rock 20-odd miles offshore in the Black Sea. A small group of Ukraine soldiers telling the Russian navy to fuck off before being shelled.
Mostly bullshit (the 14-odd guys were turned into POWS they recovered later in a Russian prisoner swap, not blasted into fish food by naval shelling), but the instant legend Ukraine exploited as much as they could. And, did they ever. 14-odd guys tell the Russian to go fuck themselves before being blasted. Instant legend they made sure every foxhole on the front lines heard about. That’s when I realized this conflict was going to add new chapters to the insurgency playbook.
Yeah, they’re nearly as bad as the Russians, but a little guy standing up to a much bigger bully is a story as old as time itself…
And let’s not forget the first propaganda campaign, the “Ghost of Kiev,” whose superhuman exploits in the skies over Ukraine turned out to be nothing but a lie.
I’m becoming increasingly convinced this didn’t ‘just happen’ all on it’s own.
It could be a way for the international professional advertising and political campaign folks ‘lending a hand’ without being obvious about it.
And think about it – An international advertising campaign being used to generate international support. Custom-tailored for each market, er, country so the people pressure their politicians to support it. Legends created like ‘The Ghost of Kiev’ and a platoon on a tiny rock telling the Russian to fuck off rather than surrender.
It’s probably far more extensive than we realize at this point. I do know one thing – China is closely watching this conflict and taking notes. The longer the international community can maintain the pressure of Russian sanctions, it should cause China to think twice about invading Taiwan. China’s gone all-in on international aviation, and if they expect to continue to enjoy those benefits, Boeing and Airbus technical support sanctions can hurt them badly…
Isn’t it amazing? In a matter of months Ukraine has gone from being a ludicrously corrupt quasi fascist state to the darling of the world, beloved by all and given hundreds of billions in weapons and cash. All they had to do was get invaded, and it has been the best thing that could have happened for the assholes at the top.
(This isn’t to disparage the bravery of the citizenry defending their homes, I’ve got nothing but respect for them)
It’s also the best thing to happen to the Puppet Administration. There’s no inflation! Okay, maybe a little, but it’s transitory! Okay, we have it, but it’s Putin’s price hike! Yeah, that’s the ticket! We can’t do the Build Back Broke Bill? That’s okay, we’ll just sign three different additional spending bills worth about $4 Trillion! But Putin’s the problem! We’re totally not raiding the treasury! Have to go! Ukraine’s calling again!
Anyone dumb enough to vote for a senile puppet is too dumb to notice we’re enriching the Ukrainian oligarchs while “sticking it” to the Russian oligarchs.
And all it would have taken to avoid all this cost and tragedy is for putin to have not invaded the Ukraine.
What a fustercluck.
Imagine an alternate reality where our president was trying to reach out to Russia and establish a mutually beneficial relationship, but the opposing political party did everything in their power to not allow that to happen so they could have their little proxy war. That’d be crazy, wouldn’t it?
Know your history. Putin has sought to “regain” Ukraine as Russian territory for many years. The 2014 war in the Donbas and Crimea only happened because Russian soldiers “on vacation” brought their tanks, artillery and other weapons to support the rebels there. The Donbas is the industrial heartland of Ukraine, with coal, iron ore, steel plants, and with many arms industries located there that produced weapons for the Russian State. And Crimea is the seat of its Baltic fleet. Russia was not about to give those up. Moreover, from a strategic perspective, the best way to protect the Motherland from invasion is to control the invasion routes through Ukraine and eastern Poland. Controlling western Ukraine would give them control over the Black Sea except for the Turkish coast. Eastern Ukraine is one of the largest grain producers in the world, and that too is a substantial asset worth controlling. Plus the plan all along was to continue rolling west to conquer Moldova.
The threat of Ukraine joining NATO was simply the excuse Putin needed to do what he had been planning to do for years.
I’m aware of the history. I understand why it would be strategic to control Ukraine. We want to control Ukraine as well. We’ve had our tentacles in that country for years. It isn’t that our dear leaders are so concerned about the Ukrainian people. They can’t even be bothered to be concerned about their own constituents back home. No, it’s all about power.
Lots of people want lots of things, but everyone doesn’t go around just taking what they want. Why is that? It’s because there are always consequences for our actions. There are pros and cons to everything. We have to carefully consider that before we take an action. The main pros for Russia are resources and security. When you get down do it, you want to control resources to increase or solidify your security. Why do preppers exist? People want security. So really, it’s about security. Now, why would Russia not feel secure? What if we had a competent government in place that didn’t try to make Russia their whipping boy in order to hide their own failures or go after their political rivals? What if our investments in Ukraine were going toward strengthen the country of Ukraine instead of lining the pockets of our ruling class? We weren’t giving Russia a reason not to invade Ukraine. Instead, we gave Russia every reason to invade it.
It’s likely at this point his brain is being fogged by the medications he’s being prescribed for his cancer.
He thought he was putting some space around ‘Mother Russia’ to stave off NATO, but ended up adding Sweden and Finland into NATO.
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_197737.htm
The exact opposite of what he wanted.
There’s an even bigger bonus, the way the vast majority of the world is starving Russia of technology with sanctions. It’s now hurting Russia *bad*. EVERY western-built airliner in Russia (the vast majority) has now lost their international airworthiness certificate and likely won’t ever get them back. They are now cannibalizing the airliners in-country in a vain attempt to keep them flying. It won’t last long.
It’s a nice lesson for China to see if they were considering invading Taiwan. Similar sanctions will destroy China…
Logical extension of the GoFundMe scam.
Where do banning political parties and using force to prevent men from leaving the country fit into “nation branding?”
That falls under the “you’re a Putin stooge” and the liberal regime will try to banish you from society category. Wave your Ukrainian flag, and call them brave or else!
Those are actually pretty common through out history.
The political parties that were banned were all Russian funded “5th Column” parties. Would you expect the US government to have allowed the US Nazi Party to continue during WWII?
Anything that goes against the official narrative in this country is also supposedly in league with Russia. Democrat politicians have been on their Russia witch hunt for years, and the media gladly played along. There was never a reckoning. They get caught lying about it and just keep going. Tell me why I should trust the media and the country known as the most corrupt place in Europe?
It is known as the most corrupt. Actually, the most corrupt was the Soviet Union, and all former Soviet republics inherited its corruption. And I am sure that some of it remains, however, when I was there two years ago, I personally have not witnessed any corruption or bribery. So perhaps calling is “the most corrupt” may not be proper. Calling it that may very well be a political tactic – I don’t honestly know, and neither does anyone else here; we often follow an inertia that someone spins up. As to the facts, we know that Bidens (both of them) were involved in corruption in Ukraine, China and the US. I am sure that those bastards will corrupt Hell when they get there. As to other instances of corruption in Ukraine in recent times, we really don’t know.
A war is fought on many fronts and not just on the battle field . The USA has never been in a position of a War on it’s own turf or experienced daily bombing like the German BLITZ on the UK and indeed America’s overriding foreign policy has been to ensure it never does. The average American has absolutely no idea of what war actually is, or what shelling whole cities into dust is really about.
My grandson has travelled extensively in both Russia and UKraine and indeed is at OXFORD reading Russian and ARABIC and has good freinds in both as well. and to the average Ukrainian those RIGHT WINGERS [OK call ’em REPUBLICAN NATIONALISTS because that what they are,] Marching up and down are a laughing matter to most Ukrainians just like most extremists are in most countries but not it seems in America.
THey had too there own ARMY UNITS the AZOZ Battalions and they proved just about as effective as the supposed ‘Special Units of the Russian Forces. 2500 of them holed up in a bloody HOLE IN THE GROUND for weeks when they should have been either fighting their way out or up there in the streets creating bloody mayhem in the rubble of MARIAPUL. Just like those Russian Special Units they vastly overestimated their own importance and capabilities and believed their own hype only, to when faced with reality, completely, to my mind, lose it!
It staggers my mind that you, a raging fascist, tries to pin the title on others.
Or are you so weak minded that you believe you are not a fascist when every comment you post here proclaims it loudly?
Well, Albert, you started out almost rational . . . I guess you took your meds on time today. Your grandson? Look, little brother, you don’t get grandsons from wanking in Mother’s basement. Frankly, I’m tired of hearing you slapping the monkey down there, night after night. Mother is tired of it. We just cannot invite anyone in the evenings.
Republican Nationalists? Puh-LEEEAZE!! Call the Azov what they are – neo-Nazis.
Uh, America has had tons of fighting on its home soil. From before it was founded all the way until the late 1800s.
It is true however that it’s been since then, since it’s seen a real war on its own soil. But to claim it never has is beyond ignorant.
And millions of our men fought in European wars, saving British and French asses. I think they know something about coming under massive artillery and bombing raids, to say nothing of the men who fought in the Pacific.
“Shelling whole cities to dust?” Minor league.
LeMay’s 20th Army Air Force reduced most of the cities in Japan to smoldering embers; by comparison, England endured a soccer riot.
And the US 8th Army Air Force administered a bombing campaign against Germany that made the Blitz look like a bar brawl.
Napalm makes an effective weapon in packed large cities constructed of wood…
“A war is fought on many fronts and not just on the battle field . The USA has never been in a position of a War on it’s own turf…”
lol
You contradict yourself from the outset. Like you said, A war is fought on many fronts and not just on the battle field. The USA fights wars on it’s own turf every single day and has been since it’s initial creation. In fact, it was fighting that was actually called ‘war’ that was fought on US turf that lead to it’s existence as an independent country.
Many have observed that black and brown people suffering in Africa, Asia, South America, or the Pacific Islands are easily overlooked. But, here, we have blonde blue-eyed children, redheads with green eyes, dishwater blondes, auburn haired women, all with white skin. Such beautiful children wrench the hearts, yes?
As for Voldemort Zelensky, he had many opportunities to head off Russia’s invasion. Like, he could have stopped shelling the ethnic Russians in Eastern Ukraine anytime. However, Voldemort was gearing up for a major offensive against the two breakaway republics, so Putin launched his own offensive.
Personally, I’m happy to see that the Russians have destroyed the Nazi battalion. If all of the Azov battalion were put on trial for war crimes, there would be a lot of executions among them. Their war crimes began in Maidan Square, moved south-west to that massacre in Kherson, and settled in to routine atrocities in the east.
The world will be better off without an Azov battalion, and it might be better off without the Ukraine government. It appears that the bastids are selling the arms we ship them, on the black market.
Being a Slovak myself, I would like to believe that Ukrainians are good people. Unfortunately, not all are.
Oh, the subject was marketing? Yeah, Voldemort does an excellent job of marketing war. He can call Euros a bunch of cowards, and the cowards fall into line offering him more weapons, and billions of dollars.
The whole thing is embarrassing.
Slovakian my ass, Russian, Belorussian, or Serb troll. Peddle your lies elsewhere.
Nazi’s? No mention of your glorious Russian Nazi’s. Let me assist you balancing out that lopsided rant. Dmitri Utkin, head of Wagner Group, head of Puto’s personal merc army who has SS collar tats and the Reichsadler Eagle on his chest.
https://www.respublica.lt/post/signs-of-neo-nazi-ideology-amongst-russian-mercenaries
https://www.romea.cz/en/news/world/the-times-putin-has-sent-mercenaries-to-kyiv-led-by-an-admirer-of-the-nazis-to-murder-zelenskyy-and-the-klitschko-brothers
As for the rest of that hot garbage, citations? Proof? Anything?
Oh yes, Russia should have ignored the fact that the Azov battalion was preparing to kill every ethnic Russian in eastern Ukraine.
Citations? You’re obviously good at finding your own. Take off your rose colored glasses, and do a serious search for the crimes of the Azov.
And, you can kiss my Slovak arse, you bigot. You don’t have the right to question any person’s ancestry.
You laid the claim of the Ukrainian shelling the Russians, burden of proof is on you.
Lol, that is a cheap ass deflection. Defending those guilty of rape and murder of children is beyond the pale, racism doesn’t enter into the fact you are pure scum whatever race you are.
“The whole thing is embarrassing.”
It is. Russia could have left well enough alone after the USSR broke up. Russia is the ex that won’t let go.
What’s embarrassing is what the American people have allowed their government to do to them.
What should be embarrassing is that the entire planet is needlessly regressing while allowing lunatics to control all the levers of power at a time in human history that has produced such weapons and global connectivity. The human race has the means and capability to overcome all this communistic craziness but decides to take the lazy way out anyway. We have left ourselves to the whims of those that are nothing more than mental cases. This is happening globally. What I find so embarrassing is that the USA should be the beacon of truth shining the light for the world and is in large part acting like cowards. We’ve been there and done that and have even won the t-shirt. It’s time to restore American greatness.
This. A thousand times this.
I’m not an optimist; I don’t think we’ll ever get it back.
I’m not a pessimist, either — I’m a realist.
“Sorry, Ben, we couldn’t keep it.”
“Rebranding” a country whose chief exports are corruption, organized crime and prostitutes is good marketing strategy.
Organized crime is more a Romanian and Bulgarian thing. But then again, there is no country in the world that doesn’t have some version of an organized criminal class./mafia.
Would the slogan, “America Home of The Brave, Land of The Free”, be false advertising?
If you only included men like you, and many of the others who post here and Debbie and the women we have on our side, then it is not false advertising. However, if we include the Soy Brigade with MG Dacian, esq, we may have an issue with getting fact checked
I’ve not been feeling as free as I used to feel. There for awhile I was eating roast beef, now it’s back to sht sandwiches, and very thankful I get the bread .
Freedom Lost:
Everyone has their own perceptions, – Mine, well a human within a hundred miles Infringes on my freedom.
Keep Your Garbage
( cans full of what I want, like, need, and that you have the power to put a lid on anytime you desire)
Down with humans
POWER TO THE POSSUMS ! ! !
Remember, O Marsupial One, that the more bread that you have, the less …
You know the rest.