Ukraine Insults China and India By Describing Them As “Intellectually Weak”
The Ukrainian presidential adviser to Volodymir Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, has managed to accomplish a rare feat in insulting the collective 2.9 billion population of China and India by describing them as ‘intellectually weak’.
In criticism presumably related to Beijing and New Delhi’s reluctance to be pushed by Kiev into imposing sanctions upon Russia, Podolyak said in an interview carried on Sputnik that “The problem with China, India is that they are not able to analyze the consequences of their actions – these countries have low intellectual potential, unfortunately. Yes, they invest in science. Yes, India has launched a lunar rover recently which is now trekking on the surface of the Moon, but that does not indicate that the country fully comprehends what the modern world is about.”
The comment, which appears borderline racist, has been brushed aside by both governments, leaving it to spokesmen to deal with, itself a sign of intellectual disregard and an unwillingness to be drawn into a verbal slanging match.
Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said that “Podolyak should analyze his statements in good faith and work on developing the right attitude” while Kanchan Gupta, senior advisor to the Indian Ministry of Broadcast and Information stated “Ukraine takes a consistent anti-India position at UN, votes for UNSC sanctions against India, pushes for UN intervention on Kashmir after abrogation of Article 370, sells military equipment to Pakistan to use against India, yet you want India’s help.”
It’s not the first time that Ukraine has insulted India, with the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence posting a controversial picture of the Hindu goddess Kali posing in a Marilyn Monroe style sporting a nuclear mushroom cloud as a skirt, an image that offended many. That was posted in context of India ‘funding’ the Russian army by buying oil from the country.
The restraint shown by Beijing and New Delhi are indicative of a more considered approach. Making statements that insult entire nations on the basis that their governments don’t necessarily share the same sentiments as Kiev does is a type of multilateral bullying. ‘You aren’t doing what we want so we will insult your country’. It is also indicative that Kiev is losing the information and quite probably tactical war with Russia.
Statements of this type will not encourage other leaders within the Global South to support Ukraine and quite possibly give clues as to the reality of the mindset of the people governing Kiev – and the sad conflict they have managed to bring upon their country.
