MANIPULATION: Shelling of Russian territory during negotiations proves that Ukraine does not want to end the war — Western journalist

Information is being spread online claiming that Ukraine is allegedly shelling Russian territory during peace negotiations. This was supposedly noticed in the West as well: Dutch journalist Sonja van den Ende stated that allegedly such behavior shows that Ukraine does not want to end the war.

This is manipulation. Sonja van den Ende is a pro-Russian propagandist, not an independent Western journalist. The aggressor in the war is Russia, but it has not stopped shelling during negotiations.

Pro-Russian propagandist, not a Western journalist

Sonja van den Ende is a journalist from the Netherlands who systematically spreads false claims about Ukraine. Since 2022, she has been living in Moscow and working to promote pro-Russian narratives, receiving support from Russian state media. In Europe, she is criticized as an instrument of Russian propaganda and is described as loyal to the Kremlin. Moreover, she has said that she suspects she could be detained if she returns to the Netherlands.

Van den Ende has repeatedly visited temporarily occupied territories such as Mariupol and Volnovakha, where, next to a hospital destroyed by Russians, she spoke about alleged shelling by the Ukrainian army. She also acted as a so-called “foreign observer” at Russian pseudo-referendums in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, accused Ukraine of striking Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka, and claimed she heard from local residents that “Azov” allegedly killed civilians in Mariupol.

By referring to her as an allegedly independent Western journalist, Russians are trying to give their propaganda greater legitimacy.

Substitution of concepts: shifting responsibility for the war onto Ukraine

On the night of August 16, 2025 (Kyiv time), a meeting between the presidents of the US and Russia took place in Alaska. One of the main goals of the negotiations was a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine. However, hostilities did not stop during the summit. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, in the 24 hours before the meeting there were 139 combat clashes, and Russian forces used 3 missiles and 213 guided aerial bombs against Ukrainian positions and civilian settlements.

Sonja van den Ende accuses Ukraine of firing on Russian territory during the negotiations. However, she deliberately ignores that Russians also shelled Ukraine that night. On the night of August 16, Russia launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 85 drones at Ukraine. In particular, in Zaporizhzhia, an enemy drone struck rescuers while they were extinguishing a fire at a warehouse.

Such accusations against Ukraine ignore the fact that Russia does not want to stop its aggression and rejects the idea of a ceasefire. The authors of such “peace appeals” are in fact demanding that Ukraine stop defending itself. But the demand to stop hostilities should be addressed not to Ukraine, which is defending itself, but to Russia, which started this war and is trying to seize the territory of a sovereign state.