On September 17, host Nikoloz Mzhavanadze (1, 2) and invited guests Political Scientist Mamuka Kartozia and “Left-wing Alliance” leader Soso Shatberashvili discussed Russo-Ukrainian war on the show “Sum-Up of the Day with Nikoloz Mzhavanadze” on the Sezoni TV channel. Mamuka Kartozia claims that today Ukraine isn’t governed by Ukrainians, particularly highlighting that the President, Prime Minister, and Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense aren’t Ukrainians. According to his claims, the US aid to Ukraine is a loan that must be returned beginning 2025-26. Moreover, Nikoloz Mzhavanadze claims that a street named after Stalin and his statue can be found in Germany.
Sezoni TV’s show aired 3 false statements: 1) Claim about non-Ukrainians governing Ukraine is disinformation. All four examples featured on the show are of Ukrainian individuals. 2) Stalin Street and his statue are no longer present in Germany. Street was renamed to Karl Marx Avenue in 1961, and the statue was removed the same year. 3) Only a portion of the US aid to Ukraine is a loan. Its primary portion remains in the US and serves to restock weapons delivered to Ukraine.
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Officials in the Ukrainian government
The guest Political Scientist Mamuka Kartozia claims that non-Ukrainians hold positions of power in the government of Ukraine today.
Mamuka Kartozia: “I harbor no homophobic sentiments toward other nations; I’m tolerant like our entire nation, the Georgian nation. However, in the Ukrainian government, gentlemen, there are non-Ukrainians: the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister, Defense Minister, and so on.”
All four individuals mentioned are Ukrainians. Among them, President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Denis Shmihal, and Foreign Minister Andrii Sibiha were born and raised in Ukraine. Both Zelensky and Shmihal are of Jewish descent,
The current Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, is of Crimean Tatar heritage and was born in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where his family had been deported in 1944. Umerov’s family was able to return to Crimea in 1989, and he completed both his secondary and higher education in Ukraine.
Highlighting the ethnic backgrounds of Ukrainian high-ranking officials reinforces the Russian narrative that Ukraine is governed by foreign powers. Following 2022, the conspiracy theory suggesting that Jews are in control of Ukraine and orchestrating the war has become particularly prevalent. The aim of disseminating such narratives is to shift the blame for the outbreak of the war onto the Ukrainian authorities rather than Russia.
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Stalin Street and the statue
Show host Nikoloz Mzhavanadze claims that there is a Stalin Street and a monument in Germany. In Berlin, a street named after Stalin (Stalinallee) did exist from 1958 to 1961, where a 4.8-meter statue of Stalin was also located. In 1961, the street was renamed Karl-Marx Avenue (Karl-Marx-Allee), the name it still has today. That same year, the Stalin monument was removed from its pedestal and destroyed. For more information about the monument’s location and history, read “Myth Detector’s” article:
- Photomanipulation, as if there is a Monument to Stalin in Berlin
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US aid to Ukraine
Yet another claim made by Kartozia refers to the US aid to Ukraine. According to the political scientist, this aid is, in fact, a loan and Ukraine is expected to begin repayment in 2025-26.
Mamuka Kartozia: “You know that received aid is a loan and starting in 2025-2026, Ukraine will need to begin repaying all the funds provided by the United States, it’s a loan, people, and by no means is it a gift.”
The United States is one of the countries that has provided military and economic assistance to Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion. Contrary to the disseminated claim, only about 30% of the aid to Ukraine is actually sent to the country, while the majority remains in the United States and is used to subsidize domestic arms production and other expenses. Ukraine primarily receives aid in the form of American weapons from reserves, while production is aimed at restocking these weapons.
The most recent aid package approved by Congress in April 2024 amounts to $61 billion. Only two portions of this aid will be provided as loans: $1.6 billion for the “Foreign Military Financing” (FMF) program and $7.9 billion for economic assistance to Ukraine.
For more information about the US aid to Ukraine, read “Myth Detector’s” article:
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