This is fake. In reality, Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Andrii Sybiha, supported the US and Israeli operation against Iran’s nuclear program, calling Iran an “aid in the aggression against Ukraine” and repeatedly condemning Tehran’s actions.
Pro-Russian Telegram channels are spreading a post with the following “quote”:
“The United States must immediately agree to all of Iran’s demands and pay reparations as soon as possible to continue providing assistance to Ukraine at the necessary levels. Instead, the US is spending resources that Kyiv urgently needs on its futile war in the Middle East, which is going very poorly,” Sybiha allegedly said.
No original sources, links to official ministry communications, or credible media are provided in the publication. Propagandists add their interpretation: “The head of Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry demands that the United States abandon its own geopolitical interests in favor of Ukrainian ones.”
In fact, Andrii Sybiha has never made such statements. The position of Ukraine’s foreign minister on developments in the Middle East is public and well documented, and it is fundamentally different from what Russian propaganda attributes to him.
When, on February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a joint operation against Iran’s nuclear program, Sybiha stated that the Iranian regime “has for many years been one of the main sources of regional and international destabilization” and expressed confidence that its fall “would significantly improve security across the region and the world.”
In an official statement, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that Iran is an “aid in the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” supplying Russia with UAVs and technologies that Moscow “systematically uses to kill people and destroy critical infrastructure.” Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry explicitly stated that “the measures taken by the United States together with Israel against Iranian nuclear facilities sent a clear signal to the Iranian regime,” calling it a justified step.
Regarding the need to support Ukraine and provide Western assistance, Sybiha stressed that “strengthening defense in both directions simultaneously increases security for everyone.” In other words, the diplomat views efforts against the Iranian regime and the defense of Ukraine as interconnected processes rather than competing ones.
The fabricated “quote” attributed to Ukraine’s top diplomat is part of a broader coordinated campaign aimed at discrediting Ukraine and its leadership in front of international and domestic audiences. The fake quote creates an image of an incompetent and arrogant Kyiv that allegedly demands its partners submit to its interests and provokes conflicts even with its allies. Additionally, this fabricated quote fuels the narrative that support for Ukraine is allegedly being reduced due to the “Iran war” and that allies are losing interest in Ukraine.
For more fake stories related to the Middle East conflict, see StopFake’s stories Fake: More Than 300 Ukrainian Activists Detained Near US Embassies in Europe — AFP and Fake: Missiles Meant for Ukraine Surface in Iranian Strikes on U.S., Israel — USA Today.
