A member of parliament from the “European Solidarity” faction, volunteer medic, and founder of the Medical Volunteer Battalion “Hospitallers,” Yana Zinkevych, during her speech in the Verkhovna Rada, stated that the information attack on the battalion is a dangerous precedent of hybrid warfare against Ukraine.
Source: PRYAMYI
“I stand here today not only as a member of parliament, but above all as the commander of a volunteer battalion that has been saving lives on the front lines for 12 years. I address you because the situation around the ‘Hospitallers’ is not just a discussion on social media. This is a dangerous precedent of attacking volunteers and Ukrainian volunteers in the context of such a brutal war,” Zinkevych said.
“I want to note immediately: I am not using this platform for personal purposes. My presence here is the duty of a politician to protect trust in the volunteer and volunteer movement, which is the foundation of our defense. On Twitter and other social networks, the discussion about our reporting was artificially directed into a stream of contempt and groundless accusations with clear signs of coordination: thousands of bots amplify internal disputes, turning them into fuel for Russian propaganda,” the MP warned.
“The enemy’s goal is obvious—to demoralize people who donate, to make Ukrainians and Western partners doubt every hryvnia spent on saving soldiers. The ‘Hospitallers’ foundation operates strictly within the law. We submit tax, statistical, and financial reports in full,” emphasized Yana Zinkevych.
“In recent days, our team processed and provided payment documents totaling 22 million hryvnias within 72 hours,” reported the founder of the volunteer medic battalion.
“I want to explain for those unfamiliar with military volunteering: retouching certain data in payment documents is a protection of sensitive information. Our contractors are individuals and companies that supply the front under critical conditions. Disclosing their details without consent is a direct threat to their safety and could disrupt future deliveries. We prioritize the safety of people over satisfying the curiosity of anonymous accounts,” Zinkevych said.
“I emphasize: my team and I stand for transparency. Journalists have the right to ask questions. But we categorically condemn hate speech and threats to anyone. At the same time, we call on the media community to adhere to professional ethics: requests for information should not begin with public accusations,” Zinkevych stated.
“I am here to defend my honest reputation and the honor of the battalion, those people who are volunteers and not only do not receive financial benefits, but also invest their own resources. If we allow the reputation of units to be destroyed without grounds through emotional posts without fact-checking—we will lose the information war,” Zinkevych stressed.
“We operate fully according to the law. I want to thank every ‘Hospitaller’ who is currently on the front line evacuating the wounded,” Yana Zinkevych concluded.
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