This information is false – the Ukrainian Foreign Minister has never made such statements. The quote circulating online is incorrectly attributed to Andrii Sybiha.
Reports are circulating on social media that Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, allegedly told Israel to «learn to fight on its own».
«Israel must stop begging the Pentagon for military aid intended for Ukraine. By taking another batch of shells or a missile defense system from Ukraine, the IDF is helping the Kremlin win,» the statement allegedly attributed to Sybiha claims.
However, this information is completely fake. Sybiha has never made such statements. The quote being circulated online is falsely attributed to him.
In official sources, including press releases on the website of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and interviews with the minister, StopFake found no evidence that Andrii Sybiha ever urged Israel to «learn to fight on its own.» StopFake also sent a request for comment to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but did not receive a response by the time this article was published.
Users spreading this “quote” from Sybiha primarily cite an article from the Russian website RF-SMI. However, this source provides no details about where or when the Ukrainian Foreign Minister allegedly made the statement, nor does it provide any credible references. After analyzing other Russian media outlets that also published this news, StopFake found that none of them provided links to original sources. The disinformation is part of a broader effort to create dissension between Ukraine and its allies.
Using the Osavul, it was established that the fake quote attributed to Sybiha began circulating on anonymous Telegram channels on the evening of October 3. The first to publish the claim that Ukraine’s Foreign Minister allegedly urged Israel to «learn to fight on its own» was the Trukha with Comments Telegram channel. This channel mimics the style and name of the well-known Ukrainian Telegram network Trukha, which includes the channel Trukha Ukraine with over 2.5 million subscribers. However, Trukha with Comments has no connection to the original channel, has just over 500 subscribers, and publishes pro-Russian content. The post quickly went viral on social media.
The day before the fake quote began circulating, on October 2nd, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had strongly condemned a massive Iranian missile attack against Israel on the evening of October 1st, 2024. Ukraine called on all sides in the Middle East conflict to prevent the escalation into a full-scale war, which would have catastrophic consequences not only for people in the region but for the world at large.
In the official statement, Ukraine also expressed support for the swift actions taken by Israel’s allies and partners, who implemented preventive measures to minimize the negative impact of the missile strikes on Israeli territory by Iran.
«We call on Ukraine’s allies to defend Ukrainian airspace with the same determination and without hesitation from Russian missile and drone attacks, recognizing that human life is equally precious in any part of the world,» the Ukrainian ministry statement said.
This is not the first time that Kremlin propaganda has spread fake quotes attributed to Ukrainian diplomats. Previously, a fake quote falsely attributed to former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed that Avdiivka should be renamed Prague so that NATO would invoke Article 5 of its charter.
