Evgeny Ponasenkov on the war

Reaction to the full-scale invasion

At the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, he opposed the aggression; however, over time, his public statements have increasingly aligned with Kremlin narratives.

Two weeks before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he recorded a video on his channel calling to "stop this before it's too late":

A Russian invasion of Ukraine, from my perspective, would be a grave mistake. […] Furthermore, NATO is not an enemy of Russia at all. We share common enemies with European countries and the US. These are hordes of barbarians advancing against European civilization and culture, and the rule of leftists who open the gates to these barbarians. Marasmic Biden, by the way, is a prime example of a leftist in power. And how can America defend Ukraine when it has been seized by cheap populists, Islamic te***orists, and other rabble?

First statements about the war

• "And so the dumb R**sian r**ble stares at the idiot box — and there's simply hell at the level of medieval obscurantism and lies lower than a footstool. Anyone sane in families — turn off the TV for the idiots around you, otherwise they will simply be dangerous. Yes, already dangerous if they've been listening to such things for years..."

• "What did both Putinists and scoundrels in Europe run into? They ran into an unexpected obstacle. They ran into the stubbornness of the Ukrainian people. Who, as it turned out, actually exist. And they are incredibly stubborn, obstinate. Shifting from initial shock to heroism, and now to talent. Such a smelting, distillation is underway, a qualitative change is taking place. Both the scum in the West and medieval minds here ran into this Ukrainian 'Fat chance, you won't get Ukraine'."

• "Before our eyes, the creation of a Ukrainian state, a Ukrainian nation is taking place. Before our eyes, borders are being forged, the true borders of Ukraine — as a political map, a mental map, and a metaphysical map. Before our eyes, this is being created. This is Putin's military 'special operation' to create genuine Ukrainian statehood. It is an extraordinary process — frightening, dangerous, tearful. But this hell is incredibly fascinating from a scientific point of view."

• "Macron, Scholz, and Biden, by the way — they had already sold Ukraine to Putin, along with its people. But when they came to 'collect the goods' — it's both tragedy and comedy. You could clearly see they were haggling. Flying in, discussing. Here he (Putin - Ed.) recorded the Security Council along with the declaration, then spent two days in the same tie, negotiating with Macron, trying to barter something there... You could see this behind-the-scenes bargaining. And what a blunder they made! Who could have thought that they actually exist — Ukrainians? But they do exist."

Designation and removal from the foreign agent registry

On April 1, 2022, he was added by the Russian Ministry of Justice to the registry of foreign media performing the functions of a foreign agent. To which Evgeny responded:

I am honestly surprised that I entered this list of decent people so late and remained 'indecent' for so long. Of course, this is lawlessness, stupidity; of course, I never received a single cent from abroad; of course, I will file a lawsuit, although it's clear that suing in today's Russia is pointless. One thing must be understood — the truth is on our side — on our shared side of people defending common sense, the laws of the Russian Federation, the Constitution, Russian people, and Russian culture. For many years I created Russian culture and science, and I enjoy the support of millions of the most educated people in Russia. Those who slander me deprive Russia of the support of its intellectual elite. A few flawed, envious bureaucrats are undermining the foundations of Russian statehood.

On September 11, 2026, the Ministry of Justice removed Evgeny Ponasenkov from the registry due to "loss of characteristics of a foreign agent."

Ukrainophobic statements and Kremlin narratives

Despite his anti-war rhetoric and criticism of Russian authorities, Evgeny Ponasenkov endorses and disseminates Ukrainophobic statements regarding the Ukrainian language and culture. He holds a negative view of their popularization, disparaging them as "provincial and rustic", and condemns policies of renaming streets and dismantling monuments that symbolize Russian imperial dominance. He labels Ukrainians who support these processes "uneducated hicks".

He supports Donald Trump's policies "from the first day of his candidacy over 8 years ago", as well as the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

He criticizes demonstrations supporting Ukraine abroad: "noisily wave your little flags in your own country, not in foreign ones", "Whoever is a Ukrainian patriot and likes Ze***sky — pack your bags and go home!".

He promotes Kremlin narratives: continually insulting the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and dividing Ukrainians into "tiers":

It's a pity Trump didn't order security to physically throw that stump Zelenskyy out of the clean house. Ze was born in *sh*t — and decided to jump above what nature endowed him with. But I repeat, there are decent Ukrainians — they are held hostage by uncouth kh**ols: I support the decent ones (and they are grateful — and for me).

Now it is possible to historically and scientifically record the division of Ukraine's population into Ukrainians and kh**ols. Ukrainians stand for creation, peace, Trump's assistance, gratitude, adequacy; kh**ols stand for ruin, malice, ingratitude, boorishness, pushiness, ugliness, thievery, clownery, and parasitism.

Ze***sky is just a dog's d**k ruining people's lives. Good thing my favorite Trump exposed him and put him in his place. Now he will genuinely punish this biowaste.

Just look at Zelenskyy's idiocy: a street thug daring to be insolent to his sponsor-masters.

They should have listened to me, and then there wouldn't have been any conflict. Did I warn against pulling the predator's tail?! I did! Did I tell them not to discriminate against Ukrainians regarding the use of the Russian language?! I did! I told them to focus on the economy and military-industrial complex rather than clerical nonsense, foreign myths from ancient Judea, and vyshyvankas! I told them not to trust leftists, Biden, and their ilk! The fools didn't listen — and got what was coming.

Other similar statements have been published in the "Maestro's" Telegram channel.