Podcaster Joe Rogan has been condemned in Ukraine for his comments in which he appeared to accuse Kyiv of pushing to "start World War III."
Rogan has taken issue with the Biden administration's decision to drop its restrictions on long-range ATACMS striking inside Russian territory.
This followed a green light to Kyiv from President Joe Biden, who appears to be using his final weeks in office to boost assistance, also providing Ukraine with anti-personnel mines and forgiving $4.65 billion of debt.
In last Friday's episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," the podcast host said that he didn't feel safe that Ukraine is "launching missiles into Russia."
"How are you allowed to do that when you're on the way out?" Rogan said, referring to Biden, "this should be some sort of a pause for significant actions that could potentially start World War III."
"Maybe that would be a good thing that we would like to avoid from a dying former president," added Rogan.
Rogan also criticized Volodymyr Zelensky, referring to a presidential address in which the Ukrainian president said that "Putin is terrified," following the Russian leader's launch of ballistic missiles into Ukraine.
"F*** you man...you f***ing people are about to start World War III," said Rogan who also repeated false drug claims pushed by Russian propagandists that Zelensky took drugs. "This is cocaine-like behavior," Rogan said.
The comments have sparked anger among Ukrainians such as the former boxer Wladimir Klitschko who posted a video on X in which he said, "you are repeating Russian propaganda. Putin's Russia is in trouble, so they want to scare you."
"You are only using the weapon that Putin intends to use—propaganda and this weapon really weakens our democracies," Klitschko added.
Newsweek has contacted Rogan's team via email and social media for comment.
In an op-ed for the Kyiv Independent, former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote: "It's striking how one-sided the conversation becomes when he (Rogan) tackles something as complex as Ukraine."
"Denigrating Ukrainians without giving them a chance to respond isn't just unfair," Kuleba said, "it's emblematic of a larger issue: the persistent tendency to discuss Ukraine without involving Ukrainians."
The same publication did vox pops of people in Kyiv who gave Rogan short shrift for his comments.
"Let him come to Kyiv, let him come to Ukraine, see everything with his own eyes, and then make some conclusions," Natalia Romonets told the outlet, "I think he just doesn't feel or understand what is happening in the world."
"He cannot comment on it. He has nothing to do with us," said Albina Volobuieva, while Liudmyla Kushnir, said that Rogan "transfers the responsibility of the Russians onto us. But that's not right—we did not start the war."
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