A tri-lingual video message from Boris Johnson appealing for an end to the Ukraine war has gone viral being seen by around 12 million people including many in Russia.
Vladimir Putin is seeking to hide the truth of the conflict from the Russian people, with media organisations in the country referring to a war in Ukraine being closed down.
But experts believe the Russian president will find it difficult to conceal the horrors of the conflict from millions of Russians because of social media and mobile phone communications.
To the people of Ukraine: Slava Ukraini.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) February 25, 2022
To the people of Russia: I do not believe this war is in your name.
This crisis, this tragedy, can and must come to an end. Because the world needs a free and sovereign Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/ijbAAb8G67
Mr Johnson’s video message, which is part of a communications battle to end the horrific bloodshed of such a major war in Europe, was put out with a tweet saying: “To the people of Ukraine: Slava Ukraini.
“To the people of Russia: I do not believe this war is in your name.
“This crisis, this tragedy, can and must come to an end. Because the world needs a free and sovereign Ukraine.”
The Prime Minister’s message has received four million video views across his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn acounts, say Whitehall sources who stress this is around ten times the average for his posts.
The clip, with versions translated and subtitled into Russian and Ukrainian, is the top performing Ukraine-related post on No10 channels.
Just under half of viewers of the message on the 10 Downing Street Youtube channel were based in Russia.
Whitehall sources added that most of these views came from external sources, suggesting the video may have been embedded on Russian news or social media sites and blogs.
Eight per cent of Facebook viewers were based in Ukraine.
In the message, Mr Johnson stresses: “The scenes unfolding in the streets and fields of Ukraine are nothing short of a tragedy.
“Brave young soldiers and innocent civilians are being cut down.
“Missiles raining indiscriminately from the skies.”
He adds: “This is a tragedy for Ukraine and so too, it is a tragedy for Russia.
“Like Ukraine, Russia is a great country with a rich history and a proud people.
“And to my Russian friends, I do not believe this war is in your name.”
The clip has also had more than seven million views on ITV’s Tik Tok, and 1.7 million on The Sun’s YouTube channel.
