Portnikov Said Something About Russians That's Hard To Believe

• 16.08.2026, 10:39

The masks have been removed.

Russians do not view Ukrainians as a separate nation, but rather consider them their “younger brothers” who need to be freed from a mythical yoke and “brought back into the family,” explained journalist Vitaly Portnikov.

Ukrainians refuse to understand just how badly Russians treat them, and this complicates everything. The columnist revealed the whole truth about Russians to Ukrainians on the Espreso.TV on YouTube.

“Ukrainians have a problem that people from other nations of the former Soviet Union may not have. They simply don’t believe that Russians don’t consider them human beings. As a person of Jewish descent, I understand this completely, because no one ever really hid this from me. I also know everything about Ukrainians and Russians. Do you know why? Because I’m not Ukrainian, and because Russians have never hidden their attitude toward Ukrainians from me either,” Portnikov stated candidly.

The journalist then added: “From the very first day I started working in Russia, I knew how Russians felt about Ukrainians, and I knew one more thing: Ukrainians don’t believe it, even if you say it out loud—that this is the case, that to Russians you’re ‘peasants being manipulated, and Putin will explain everything.’

Ukrainians don’t realize this attitude exists. People who aren’t aware of this attitude always believe that others will talk to them and negotiate with them, but others will only talk to them and negotiate with them if they lack the strength to defeat them.”