Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba did not say in an ultimatum that Ukraine and the United States will sign security agreements only after Kyiv receives financial assistance. Russian propaganda cut off the part of the minister’s interview where he explains that such documents can be signed only after the other side has determined its financial capabilities.
Some netizens and Kremlin outlets spread manipulative information that Ukraine had allegedly stated in an ultimatum that it would sign security agreements with the United States only “if they give us money.” The propaganda quotes the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, in this news.
“Our diplomacy continues to demonstrate the wonders of idiocy, and this is done by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that we will sign security guarantees with America only if they give us money,” users write.
As “proof,” users attach a segment of an interview with the minister, where he referring to Ilf and Petrov’s famous novel The Twelve Chairs says: “Chairs in the evening, money in the morning. Chairs in the morning, money in the afternoon. Money first, then signing.”
After this information was spread, StopFake decided to check whether Dmytro Kuleba had really stated in an ultimatum that Ukraine would sign security guarantees with the United States only after receiving money. As it turned out, the minister’s quote was taken out of context.
The video segment was taken from an interview that Kuleba gave to the American media outlet Voice of America. Its full version is available on the Voice of America’s YouTube channel, where it was published on February 27, 2024. In it, the Ukrainian minister did talk about the possibility of signing a security agreement between Ukraine and the United States. However, the minister did not put forward any ultimatums. According to him, to sign such documents, it is necessary for the other side to first determine its financial capabilities.
“Chairs in the evening, money in the morning. Chairs in the morning, money in the afternoon. Money first, then signing. These guarantee agreements are very specific. They specify amounts, they specify concrete things that the parties to this agreement will work on. And the United States will be able to sign this agreement when it has a clear understanding of the resources at its disposal. This is the logic,” Kuleba said.
Propaganda cut off the rest of the interview, which would have explained the statement “first money, then signing” by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, and left only the part in which he allegedly gave an ultimatum. Earlier, StopFake refuted the information that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy would allegedly stop considering the United States a strategic partner if Washington “does not give money.”
