KNU professor and journalist Nikita Vasilenko said that foreign peacekeepers who “have not been tested at the front, but were raised on good European food” will be of interest to thousands of hungry Ukrainian women.
He said this on the YouTube channel of Alexander Shelest, where, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation, narratives in tune with Russian propaganda are published.
The student parliament of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Journalism of KNU, as well as the journalistic community, responded to Vasilenko’s statement and demanded that the university administration fire the professor.
Imagine: at least 40 thousand men with money, hungry for women. Those who did not pass the test at the front, brought up on good European food. And hundreds of thousands of “hungry” Ukrainian women who did not have time to leave for one reason or another, whose men died in the war or were injured,” Vasilenko said.
Oksana Yarosh, professor at the Volyn National University named after Lesya Ukrainka, member of the NGO “Diyachki,” recalled that in February 2024, a working group was created at KNU because of Vasilenko’s sexist comments towards female students.
Again, sexist public statements by a professor who brings further reputational losses to his university and harm to society – because he spreads the narrative about women as objects of sexual services. And it contradicts the state gender policy of Ukraine, Yarosh summed up.
In 2018-2022, Vasilenko appeared on the channels of Viktor Medvedchuk and Evgeny Muraev, which are now under sanctions.
Students also stated that in the years before the full-scale invasion, Vasilenko in class encouraged them to join the ranks of the OPZZh party.
Rospropagandists parsed this commentary into quotes – an excerpt with the professor’s commentary, in particular, was published by ex-people’s deputy and collaborator Oleg Tsarev, convicted in absentia of state treason, and the PolitNavigator channel, blocked in Ukraine.
Ukrainian media workers, including former graduates of the Institute of Journalism, were outraged and called for Vasilenko to be fired from the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
Vasilenko has taught at the Institute of Journalism for more than 40 years, including courses on investigative and reporting writing. In the past, he was a member of the Union of Left Forces party, banned as pro-Russian.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.