I’ve been shown some of those, and my issue with them has always been that a scattering of pictures like that can paint a very misleading picture if they’re used effectively. I was hoping someone would provide something with a more complete overview.

Fortunately, someone came through with some quality articles about the situation around the time of this post. Unfortunately been super busy and then sick and then busy again, hence the late reply, so I don’t have time right now to dig them back out again, but if you want to see them, check my comment history. I replied to them to thank them for actually providing some good evidence, so should hopefully be findable.

My overall takeaway from them was that Ukraine does have a problem with far right nationalists, but the problem is largely exaggerated to bolster condemnation of Ukraine. Ukraine is definitely going to have to address the problem eventually, hopefully soon, but I can understand how being invaded by Russia might have made them deprioritize that for now. It feels like a pretty risky move to try to make use of them for now, but desperation is a motherfucker like that.

I’ve seen a lot of claims of Nazis in Ukraine, and to be totally fair, there have been pictures of disturbing large groups around symbols, but nobody ever seems able to muster any genuine evidence there’s a systemic problem. Everything anyone has ever been able to show me has attempted to make big leaps to stretch scant evidence into more than it is. I’m open to being proven wrong, but the last several times I offered the chance, I got the same load of half assed bullshit. I’ve tried several times to give the claim a chance, but it increasingly sounds like a tiny grain of truth blown up into a mountain of Russian butthurt.

I mean… If the election has a really high chance of not genuinely reflecting the will of the people because an outside force is guaranteed to attempt to interfere with the election… Yeah, it’s kinda not the time because you’re going to choose based on the will of the invader, not the will of the people.

Sorry you’re not allowed to have a democracy because someone might try to convince you to vote against me.

I can’t believe you’re genuinely this unimaginative. Do you really think Russia would limit themselves to propaganda? Do you think Russia respects the democratic process enough to not interfere in an election where getting the right leader might mean submission, annexation, and victory? The same Russia that was the origin for multiple bomb threats on polling locations during the US 2024 election? The same Russia that’s constantly fraught with internal accusations of election fraud? That Russia?

Yeah, not every nation wants to deal with securing elections in an active war zone, especially against an opponent heavily incentivized and willing to put their thumb on the scale however they can.

Zelenskyy didn’t cancel elections, though. They’re legally forbidden in Ukraine during martial law, which is only still in effect because Russia is still invading. If anyone canceled Ukrainian elections, it’s Putin because the choice for Ukraine was either submit and lose elections permanently or resist and enact martial law, losing them temporarily.