Valentina Matvienko, head of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
Valentina Matvienko/ council.gov.ru
Valentina Matvienko is a Russian politician, diplomat, and head of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Although she is of Ukrainian origin, she keeps her origin quiet and constantly declares her love for Russia.
She actively supported the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. She justified the events in Donbas of the same year by saying that the Russian Federation was allegedly “forced to defend itself because the echelons of the Banderas were moving.”
She stated that the Russian occupiers allegedly acted humanely and did not use civilians as “human shields”, did not shell city quarters, did not destroy objects of social and communal infrastructure, and did not abuse prisoners of war.
She said that not only the Ukrainian military but also the collective West and NATO were opposing the occupiers at the front.
*The material was created in cooperation with the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
Main statements
1. She emphasised the importance of the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia (March 18, 2022)
On the so-called anniversary of the occupation of Crimea, she said that in the “referendum” of 2014, Crimeans had chosen peace and freedom. She said that they allegedly had made the right choice.
2. She stated the union of the Nazi regime with the authorities in Ukraine (March 30, 2022)
She said that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, did not make decisions independently. She accused the Ukrainian authorities of allegedly being “under the influence of the Nazis.”
3. She stated that the Russian Federation would restore life in the “liberated” territories of Donbas (June 14, 2022)
4. She stated that Ukraine allegedly did not make decisions independently (October 6, 2022)
As she said, Ukraine reportedly refused to participate in negotiations because it “is not independent in its decision-making.” Matvienko made this statement during the eighth Summit of the G20 heads of parliaments, held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on October 6-7, 2022.
