Teaching Truth: A Ukrainian Teacher's Online Mission to Counter Russian Propaganda

Vitalii Dribnytsia, a 59-year-old history teacher from Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, is utilizing the platform Chatroulette to unfold the truths about Ukraine’s history to Russians. Engaging directly with individuals from the nation that invaded his own, Dribnytsia seeks to dispel misconceptions perpetuated by the Kremlin—particularly the notion that Ukraine is not a legitimate nation. His online discussions have not only become a tool for historical education but have also sparked interest in Ukrainian identity among his own countrymen, as evidenced by his popular YouTube channel, Vox Veritatis.

On a recent afternoon in Bila Tserkva, a quaint city in central Ukraine, a 59-year-old history teacher named Vitalii Dribnytsia found himself in a vibrant cafe, equipped with his laptop and ready to log into Chatroulette—an online platform designed to randomly connect users with strangers globally.

His mission was clear: to share the historical truths of Ukraine with Russians, who hail from the nation responsible for invading his. Moments after connecting, a middle-aged man appeared, seemingly in a grocery store, and Dribnytsia promptly initiated the dialogue with a bold question: “Who does Crimea belong to?” This query referenced the Ukrainian peninsula that Russia controversially annexed in 2014.

The Russian man responded swiftly with, “To us.” What followed was an intense debate that touched on the historical context of Ukraine and Russia, including Ukraine's fight for independence between 1917 and 1921, as well as discussions about the Ukrainian language's legitimacy. While the conversation offered moments of uncertainty for the Russian participant regarding historical facts, he eventually dismissed the need for deeper understanding, asserting, “The internet will tell you everything. Ukraine never existed and never will.”

This exchange is just one of countless discussions Dribnytsia has engaged in with individuals from Russia over the past three years amidst the ongoing war. His aim? To challenge the dominant Kremlin narrative that denies Ukrainian nationhood and upholds the belief that Ukraine is a Russian territory.

Dedicated to his cause, Dribnytsia spends several hours daily on Chatroulette, utilizing incisive questions and straightforward language to dismantle prevalent misconceptions among Russians: the belief that Ukraine’s identity was birthed by the Soviet Union, accusations of its leadership being neo-Nazi, and the idea that Ukrainian is merely a dialect of Russian.

The candid exchanges documented by Dribnytsia and uploaded to his YouTube channel, “Vox Veritatis”—which translates to “The Voice of the Truth”—have garnered nearly half a million subscribers. His efforts are not only informative but serve to bolster a cohesive understanding of Ukrainian history among his compatriots, helping them articulate defenses of Ukraine's claim to sovereignty.