DISINFO: Zelenskyy denies Ukraine the only protection against COVID-19
SUMMARY
Woe to the President [Volodymyr Zelenskyy] who, out of his own stupidity and weakness, refused to accept the lifeline proposed by Moscow. And this given the catastrophic situation that is now emerging in “Nezalezhnaya” [pejorative Russian slang for Ukraine] due to COVID-19. […] in general, [“Sputnik-V”] is “the most effective remedy to date in the fight against coronavirus.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine and the coronavirus. On Aug 11, 2020, Russia declared that it was the first country in the world to approve a vaccine against the coronavirus. Nonetheless, there are widespread concerns that the approval is premature. At the time of approval, the vaccine had not even started phase 3 trials, nor had any results on the earlier stage trials been published, worlds scientists said in the Lancet. WHO expressed concerns about the preternatural registration of the vaccine. See similar disinformation cases alleging that ugly commercial interests are behind the criticism of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine or that WHO confirms the Russian "Sputnik-V" vaccine is safe and effective.