FAKE: The United States plans to move the capital of Ukraine to Lviv in the event of Russia’s victory

Users are quoting an article from Asia Times, in which purportedly an “agent in the US Department of Defense” stated that the US is preparing for Ukraine’s defeat. “The new Ukraine policy has been emerging over recent months. If understood correctly, the policy is designed to deal with the new reality that Ukraine will lose the war and Ukraine’s government may need to evacuate Kiev. Putting Budanov in effective control, including for the relocation of Ukraine’s capital, probably to Lviv, is the bedrock of the policy,” the article says.

However, these statements are fake. The article provides no evidence that the US actually has such plans. The author of the material has previously published disinformation articles about Ukraine.

The author of the article “Ukraine: Zelensky May Soon Oust Military Chief Zaluzhny” is Stephen Bryen. He was indeed the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Economic, Trade, and Security Policy in the United States from 1981 to 1988. Currently, Bryen is a senior research fellow at the Yorktown Institute‘s analytical center, which publishes articles advising Ukraine to abandon NATO membership and occupied territories to achieve peace.

In his materials, Bryen consistently spreads the claim that Ukraine is incapable of winning. In November 2023, he also claimed that the United States planned to replace Volodymyr Zelenskyi by staging a coup. Previously, we refuted the information stated in Bryen’s article for Asia Times, alleging that the US proposed limiting the powers of the Security Service of Ukraine due to Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s actions.

The claims that the US is preparing for Ukraine’s defeat are untrue, and the information about the plan to move the capital from Kyiv to Lviv is unsupported by any evidence. Furthermore, the assertion that the US seeks to control the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Kyrylo Budanov resonates with the Russian narrative about alleged external influence on the Ukrainian government, which supposedly makes no decisions without Western approval.

Meanwhile, American officials continue to express support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. For example, three committees of the US House of Representatives (Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Armed Services), led by Republican representatives, published a document in November 2023 titled “Proposed Plan for Victory in Ukraine.” In it, policymakers condemned the inadequate support for Ukraine from the current US presidential administration and emphasized the need to increase sanctions and arms supplies.

Additionally, the US leads the “Ramstein” contact group to assist the country in its struggle against Russia and promote the future strengthening of Ukraine’s defense capabilities. During the contact group meeting on January 23, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reiterated that support for Ukraine is crucial for global security. “And we should not waver in our support for Ukraine,” he added.

The Asia Times article presents another narrative often used by Russian propaganda, alleging that Volodymyr Zelenskyi intends to dismiss Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi due to differences in views on conducting the war. However, at the time of writing the article, there is no confirmation of this information.