DISINFO: Ukrainians are massively travelling to Russia get vaccinated with Sputnik V
SUMMARY
The Ukrainians, deprived of the possibility to be vaccinated in their home country, decided to take advantage of Russia's naivety, arriving in large numbers “to the aggressor country” to be vaccinated against COVID-19. These trips were so popular that it turned out that the Ukrainians made up a significant number among the foreigners vaccinated at the expense of the Russian budget.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukraine, vaccination and Sputnik V.
The claim about Ukrainian citizens travelling to Russia on a large-scale travelling to receive the Sputnik V vaccine is not supported by evidence. There are travel restrictions between Ukraine and Russia (14-day quarantine in Ukraine plus serious travel restrictions for most of the Ukrainians entering Russia), so there is no intense movement of travellers between the two states.
There is no evidence that Russia vaccinates Ukrainian citizens, who are not temporary or permanent residents of Russia. The Russian authorities face substantial challenges in the vaccination of their own citizens because of a low number of available Sputnik V vaccines (by February 10, 2021 only 2.7% of the Russian population were vaccinated).
According to the Ukrainian officials, their country has secured 20 million vaccine doses from the global COVAX scheme from China, India and the EU and the Government hopes to start vaccinating its population in mid-February. In addition, Ukraine is set to receive 12 million AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccines. Ukraine has also held talks with all possible vaccine manufacturers and suppliers and already issued budget funds for the purchases. On February 10, the EU supported the initiative of Poland to sell 1.2 million AstraZeneca vaccines to Ukraine (these vaccines come from the Polish additional vaccine reserve).
See similar cases promoting the idea that the Sputnik V vaccine is the only “salvation” for Ukraine: Ukrainians will die because they gave up the Sputnik V vaccine, Ukraine has no other option besides Sputnik V and Ukraine focusing on refusing “Sputnik V” instead of saving lives.