Democracy Under Siege: Ukrainians Reject Wartime Elections and Lies
By:Giorgio Provinciali
Live from Ukraine ????????
Ternopil Although ongoing power outages are severely testing the resilience of the Ukrainian people, exhausted after 12 years of war, including four years of large-scale conflict, the results ofthe latest poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology(KIIS) are clear:only 9% of respondents support holding elections during the war, andapproval ratings for President Zelensky have risen further to 61%.
These facts, easily confirmed by speaking with civilians and soldiers, accurately reflect the situation in both Ukraine and the United States. Donald Trump had, in fact,falselyclaimedthat Zelensky was the only one stubbornly refusing to give in, while the Ukrainian civilian population would have accepted capitulation. This is essentially what his peace plan is about, even after it has been scaled back and modified.
Lets stay united, victory will be ours A flash mob based on this call not to give up is spreading among Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines, and it has gained widespread attention on social media. Addressing institutions, their comrades, and civilians directly, thousands of Ukrainian defenders are recording short clips urging people not to believe the assessments ofcouch potatoesand the fake news they spread to undermine the armys unity. From the most dangerous positions on the front, men and women of all ages are explaining that these are nothing more than attempts to pressure the peace negotiations process.
We will defend every single piece of our land say the soldiers on the front, and civil society interviewed by KIIS firmly maintains the same position.75% of those interviewed are not even in favor of holding elections in the event of a cessation of hostilities, even if security guarantees were offered. People want peace, but they know that peace means victory.Any other agreement with the Russians would be nothing more than a rehash of centuries-old tragedies.Fifty-seven percent of the Ukrainian civilian population believes that only after the war is completely over will it be sensible to hold any electoral process.
KIIS Director Anton Hrushetskyi noted thatthe vast majority of Ukrainians do not demand elections, that the level of trust in President Zelensky remains high, and that his legitimacy is not questioned by society. Hrushetskyi also highlighted thatthe public perceives calls for elections during wartime as an attempt to weaken the stateand rejectsthe lessons in democracy offered by the White House leader(who, incidentally, has a much lower trust rating among his fellow citizens than Zelensky).Trumpclaimsthat Ukraine is no longer a democracy because elections have not been held for a long time.Ukrainian civil society and soldiers on the front are responding clearly, especially at the most difficult moment.
After three days of widespread blackouts, during which no one could get electricity to their homes, half a million residents of Odesa Oblast remain cut off from the power grid. In other parts of Ukraine, the situation is just as difficult.There is no electricity, water, heating, or internet. The few times they manage to connect, it usually lasts only a few minutes because, although power has returned, mobile networks are disabled by the Ukrainians themselves to prevent Russian drones from locking onto those cells.
Life here remains extremely tough. Even simple tasks like sending this article to the editorial team are becoming more difficult.
Under theseconditions, no worse than those of 2022, KIIS asked Ukrainians if they are willing to endure the war for as long as necessary. 63% answered yes. Consistently. In September, the figure was 62%. Only 1% said they could only endure a year. 99% did not agree.
In Berlin,U.S. representatives or rather, Russian spokespeopleSteve Whitkoff and Jared Kushner continued to pressure Ukraine, urging them to abandon Donbas, claiming thatit was now the U.S. demanding Ukraine withdraw its troops.A disgraceful stance that equates the U.S. with the Russian aggressorand which, at every level, the Ukrainians oppose.
THANKS TO ALL WHO BACK US IN THESE HARD TIMES ????????????????????????
????????致相信我们工作并愿意支持它的读者????????????
在过去的三年里，作为自由撰稿人，我们一直在乌克兰战争的所有前线进行报道，自从大规模
https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/9kY6JJqKxy
民主遭受围攻：乌克兰人拒绝战时选举与谎言
作者：Giorgio Provinciali
乌克兰前线报道????????
特尔诺皮尔虽然持续的停电严重考验着乌克兰人民在经历了12年的战争，其中包括四年的大规模冲突后的韧性，但基辅国际社会学院（KIIS）最新的调查结果显示：仅有9%的受访者支持在战争期间举行选举，而泽伦斯基总统的支持率进一步上升至61%。
（图片来源及致谢：KIIS）
这些事实很容易通过与平民和士兵交谈来证实，准确反映了乌克兰和美国的情况。唐纳德特朗普实际上错误地声称乌克兰平民会接受投降，而泽伦斯基是唯一一个坚持不让步的人。这本质上就是他的和平计划的内容，即使它已被缩减和修改。
（图：我在乌克兰扎波罗热录制了这段视频版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
让我们团结起来，胜利将属于我们基于这一不放弃的呼吁，前线的乌克兰士兵之间掀起了一场快闪行动，并在社交媒体上引起了广泛关注。面向各种机构、同袍战友和公众，数千名乌克兰战士录制了短片，敦促人们不要相信沙发土豆的评估以及他们散播的虚假新闻，这些虚假信息都是旨在破坏军队的团结。来自前线最危险地区的各个年龄段的男女向人们解释，这些（虚假叙事）不过是施压和平谈判过程的尝试。
我们将捍卫我们的每一寸土地前线的士兵这样说，KIIS访问的公民社会同样坚定地保持这一立场。75%的受访者甚至不赞成在敌对行动停止的情况下举行选举，即使有安全保障的承诺。人们渴望和平，但他们知道和平意味着胜利。与俄罗斯的任何其他协议不过是几个世纪昔日悲剧的重演。57%的乌克兰平民认为，只有在战争彻底结束后，举行任何选举程序才是明智的。
（图片来源及致谢：KIIS）
KIIS主任安东赫鲁谢茨基指出，绝大多数乌克兰人不要求举行选举，对泽伦斯基总统的信任程度仍然很高，而社会对他的合法性并不质疑。赫鲁谢茨基还强调，公众将战时要求举行选举视为削弱国家的企图，并拒绝白宫领导人提供的民主课程（顺便提一句，他在其国内同胞中的信任度远低于泽伦斯基）。特朗普声称乌克兰不再是民主国家，因为已经很长时间没有举行选举。乌克兰的公民社会和前线的士兵明确回应，尤其是在最艰难的时刻。
经历了三天的大面积停电，期间没有人家庭获得了电力供应，奥德萨州的五十万居民仍然无法连接电网。在乌克兰的其他地区，情况同样艰难。没有电、水、暖气或互联网。他们偶尔能够连接的几次，通常也只维持几分钟，因为尽管电力恢复，但移动网络被乌克兰人自己禁用，以防止俄罗斯无人机锁定那些信号塔。
这里的生活仍然极为艰难。即使是将这篇文稿发送给编辑团队这样的简单任务也变得更加困难。
在这些条件下，情况与2022年一样糟糕，KIIS询问了乌克兰人是否愿意忍耐战争持续，直到必要为止。63%的受访者回答是，这一比例始终如一。在九月时，这一数字为62%。只有1%的受访者表示他们只能忍耐一年，99%持不同意见。
在柏林，美国代表更确切地说是俄罗斯发言人史蒂夫维特科夫和贾瑞德库什纳继续向乌克兰施压，敦促他们放弃顿巴斯，声称现在是美国要求乌克兰撤回军队。这种可耻的立场将美国与俄罗斯侵略者等同起来，乌克兰人在各个层面上都予以反对。
（图：我，后方是被俄罗斯袭击摧毁了的乌克兰民用基础设施版权所有，Giorgio Provinciali）
