Opinion | Can Ukraine win over the Global South in its fight against Russian aggression?

Ukrainian researchers monitoring news in the Global South have found many media outlets broadcasting manipulative pro-Kremlin messages

Attitudes toward the war vary considerably across the Global South, with most countries maintaining the importance of safeguarding Ukraine’s existing borders

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference. Ukraine is aware that its relationship with the Global South is weak. Kyiv has struggled to get its message across to countries on the African continent. Photo: dpa

Published: 2:30pm, 4 Aug 2023

I was running from my home in Kyiv, as the Russian army occupied Bucha, Gostomel and Irpin in the early stages of its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

By accident, I was leaving in a bus that a nearby international school was using to evacuate its students and staff. We drove for a long time, spending nights in bomb shelters with young people and their children from China, the Middle East and India, who had been studying and working in Ukraine.

When the war broke out, Ukraine was hosting tens of thousands of students from the Global South – which includes Africa, Latin America and much of Asia and Oceania – and was generally viewed as a partner in many countries.

But the war disrupted everything, including public opinion in many of these same countries. Now, Ukraine is struggling to gain support in the Global South, which has shown ambivalence about the invasion and been reticent to cut off ties with Russia.

Differences of opinion

After the February 2022 invasion, Ukraine’s leaders tried to rally the world’s support by focusing on a narrative of fighting for democracy and decolonisation.

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