Protest against the invasion of Ukraine in Portugal
Association of Ukrainians in Portugal calls for an end to support for pro-Putin refugees in the country: “they receive financial support from the Portuguese government while presenting themselves as refugees from Russian aggression”.
The Association of Ukrainians in Portugal recently sent a letter to the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, requesting that the Government suspend financial support for Ukrainian refugees who propagate positions favorable to Russia.
The request, according to the statement cited by , follows the identification of citizens who, despite being welcomed in Portugal as displaced people due to the Russian invasion, maintain a narrative contrary to the Western vision of the conflict.
One of the examples will be that of – a term that means “Homeland” in Ukrainian – led by Oleksandr Nesterenko, a former Ukrainian journalist who arrived in Portugal in April 2022. Since then, Nesterenko has published articles and news in Portuguese, defending a perspective on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that is different from that defended by the West.
“We recently discovered that these Russian disinformation ‘agents’ also operate in Portugal. And, the most shocking thing, is that they receive financial support from the Portuguese government while presenting themselves as refugees from Russian aggression since 2022,” says the letter, according to RR.
“At first, I thought it was ‘fake’, but then I started to see that the statute was on the page”, says Pavlo Sadokha, president of the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal,
Nesterenko “was already in Portugal 10 years ago, or 15 years ago, and already made some magazines related to politics, saying that the times of the Soviet Union were good times”, according to Sadokha. He would have already shown pro-Soviet positions and participated in events that criticize Ukraine.
“We realized that this man participates in several events against Ukraine, including those organized by the PCPwhich also advocates the end of support for Ukraine. And finally, we discovered that all those pro-Putin agents who are on social media in Portugal are always advertising this man, who is shown as a Ukrainian with another vision of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine”, says Sadokha.
The association emphasizes that this will not be an isolated case and that there are other refugees in Portugal who, actively on social media, promote ideas favorable to Russia.
The letter sent to the Government warns of the “active or passive” use of some Ukrainian citizens as instruments of the Russian narrative, noting that the situation is worrying because it involves public funds destined for refugees who, theoretically, should be supported due to Russian aggression.
Sadokha admits that monitoring these situations is not simple, as it is not possible to formally question each applicant for temporary protection about their political opinions. However, it considers it essential that, when cases of this type become known, the State intervenes and suspends support for those who promote disinformation or pro-Putin propaganda.
