Just for the context GUR is Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Agency. Practically like the CIA is in the US.
The relevant part, translated:
BBC: You recently spoke about Telegram being a problem for Ukraine.
Kyrylo Budanov: I can repeat that again for you. It is a huge problem.
BBC: And what can be done about it?
Kyrylo Budanov: Or, as they say, to put it in order - at least legally force everyone to register, so it is clear who is behind which media resource, and Telegram has already definitely acquired the status of media. There is no question of influence or pressure - the issue is not about that. If you want to promote your position - and it may not please someone and that is normal in a democratic society - take responsibility. What are you afraid to say who you are?
BBC: So you’re talking about anonymous Telegram channels?
Kyrylo Budanov: They are all anonymous. Do you know a single Telegram channel that openly said I am this person? That’s the answer.
BBC: Could their closure become a solution to this problem? Blocking?
Kyrylo Budanov: Temporarily yes, but I still believe they need to be forced to register. This will not be pressure on the press. In a democratic society, I say again, you cannot simply exert pressure…
Why am I even telling you this? You are a media representative. Would you be very happy if someone came to you and said: that’s it, from now on you write like this? Of course, that would be abnormal. But being afraid to say who you are is also wrong. And throwing anything into the ether on behalf of an anonymous person, excuse me, paid from completely different parts of the world is also abnormal.
“We’re not pressuring them, we are merely holding them accountable”
Last time I checked, Ukraine is fighting a war against a Russian invasion.
During World War II, the US censored pictures of dead soldiers until 1943. And that was without a war happening on American soil.
And that was wrong
In Ukraine they have real bad censorship ideas and I’m against censorship of any form. What I’m the most worried about is the fact that one of the military related ministers (or maybe ex ministers I don’t remember) has the highest chance of becoming the next president (at least the last time I saw the stats). That’s a straight way to dictatorship and also the government tries their best to make the people truly aggressive to Russians (no matter who they are) and even kinda fascistic is general. There’s nothing good about it, even in the current situation. And at the same time they’re accusing Russia in doing the same (which is true but doesn’t justify Ukraine) lol
“The people being invaded need to behave better” is one way people justify brutality against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. And despite the argument working better on Hamas, I reject it there too.
In both situations, the chaos is being caused by the invading country, and the onus is on the invader to leave.
You said “LOL” about Ukraine not getting to join the EU, but that was the same attitude the US and Israel had towards UNESCO for daring to admit Palestine as a member state in 2011.
I’m not a political expert so I can’t say anything about that. I said what I said about what I knew well
That didn’t stop you from speculating earlier.
We had that type of bullshitery here way long before the war started. Also, the invasion doesn’t stop the corrupt government from stealing millions of hryvnas.
In Gaza, I think the claim is “The invasion doesn’t stop the corrupt Hamas government from stealing food”…
Again, the solution is the invading country leaves and stops interfering.
Stealing food is on whole other level and ai’m not sure whether comparison Gaza to Ukraine is correct. I can only speak about my country, and the fact is the mass censorship and bullshittery were NOT caused by the external agressor and thus getting rid of them will NOT help the fundamental issues here.
In 2014, Ukraine overthrew a corrupt Russian puppet president and called for a new election. Instead of participating, the puppet fled, and Ukrainians discovered his palace.
Were you aware of this?
Dude, I live here, ofc I am. The Maidan merely helped a group of pro-Western oligarchy shift power on their side from the pro-Russian oligarchy. It didn’t solve corruption, it didn’t solve the problems, it didn’t help the economy etc.
It removed a Russian puppet leader. Now there is no foreign puppet in charge of the country. This alone is a huge change, doesn’t sound like it’s “merely” a shift.
Using LGBT rights and antisemitism (and even censorship!) as a metric, I’m pretty sure you would agree that leaning towards “pro western” values is preferable to what Russia is doing in their country and to their puppet states.