Ukrainian politician and advisor to President Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, on Wednesday, fell short of issuing a clarification a day after he said that Indians and Chinese have weak intellectual potential. Podolyak said that the people from India and China do not realise the consequences of their actions.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Podolyak blamed Russian propaganda for taking his words out of context. “Classic Russian propaganda: take it out of context, distort the meaning, scale it up to separate target audiences with conflict provocation. Of course, Türkiye, India, China, and other regional powers are increasingly and clearly justified in claiming global roles in the modern world – and there are all the reasons for this: historical, economic, cultural, scientific and political,” the Ukrainian politician wrote.
Classic Russian propaganda: take it out of context, distort the meaning, scale it up to separate target audiences with conflict provocation. Of course, Türkiye, India, China and other regional powers are increasingly and clearly justified in claiming global roles in the modern…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) September 13, 2023
The politician added, “And these roles have long been much more extensive than Russia’s. But the global world is much broader than even the most thoughtful regional and national interests. The global world is based on stability and predictability, on rationality and strategy, on international law and clear rules of the game.”
“Today we see Russia demonstratively trying to undermine the foundations of the global world by trying to break international law. One way or another, it is irrational to ignore this due to situational and regional economic interests, as it has long-term consequences. The sooner Russia loses, the more chances the world has to return to stability and the rules of the game. The task of the great powers is to accelerate this moment,” Podolyak wrote.
The advisor to the Ukrainian President on Tuesday (12 September) drew widespread condemnation for his statement on India and China during an interview. “What’s wrong with India, China, and so forth? The problem is that they are not analysing the consequences of their steps, these countries have weak intellectual potential, unfortunately,” he remarked.
Mykhailo Podolyak further said, “Yes, they invest in science. Yes, India has launched a lunar rover presently and is now trekking on the surface of the Moon, but that does not indicate that this country fully comprehends what the modern world is about.”
Podolyak’s controversial statement came after the successful conclusion of the G20 Summit with the adoption of the historic New Delhi Declaration. The joint communique took a Global South-centric approach in its language pertaining to the war in Ukraine.
Issuing a statement during the Summit, Ukraine Foreign Minister pointed out that the declaration did not condemn Russia and said, “In terms of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, G20 has nothing to be proud of.” Meanwhile, India has maintained that the aim of its G20 Presidency did not revolve around the Ukraine war.
Moreover, on 30 April, the official X page of the Ukraine Ministry of Defense triggered a massive controversy by insulting Hindu sentiment. The Ukrainian ministry posted an artwork of the Hindu Goddess Kali in an objectionable manner hurting Hindu sentiments across the world. The post was shamelessly captioned, “Work of art”.
