The goal was to remove the population of eastern Ukraine and replace it with "other people", the US commentator has said

The Ukraine conflict appears to be an "ethnic cleansing" project aimed at removing the Russian-speaking population from the country's eastern border regions, US conservative commentator Candace Owens has said.

Owens made the remarks in an interview with Russian filmmaker and TV host Nikita Mikhalkov during a discussion about the roots of the conflict and the West's attitude toward Russia.

"I think what's happening in Ukraine is an ethnic cleansing," Owens said, arguing that it was "obvious" that large numbers of fighting-age men were being killed, and suggested that "the ultimate goal" of those behind the conflict was to move in "other people" to Ukraine's border regions.

Moscow has long maintained that the conflict stems from the Western-backed 2014 coup in Kiev, which overthrew then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, and the subsequent military campaign launched by the new authorities against Donbass, where much of the population is Russian-speaking and historically close to Russia.

Mikhalkov stressed that Russia was not fighting Ukrainians but "Satan," arguing that Kiev had turned against Russia, the Orthodox faith and the shared history of the two peoples. Since 2014, Ukraine has effectively banned the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and barred the use of the Russian language in virtually all aspects of life.

Owens agreed with the broader religious framing of the conflict, suggesting that "satanic" forces have established a foothold in the West. She pointed to modern France and the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, which included a parody of Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper with drag performers and LGBT imagery, as an example of Satanism and a mockery of Christianity.

She also noted that "satanic" forces in the West fear Russia because its emphasis on history gives people a different understanding of the world.

Owens linked that idea to several major revolutions, including the French Revolution of 1789 and the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, which she described as "satanic." After taking power, the Bolsheviks launched a violent anti-religious campaign against the Russian Orthodox Church, seizing church property, persecuting clergy and promoting state atheism.

Owens stated that the West's continued hostility toward Russia appears to be driven by the descendants of Russian Jewish families associated with the assassination of Tsar Nicholas II and the Bolshevik Revolution. She argued that in the early 20th century, many of these families emigrated to the West, where they gained influence and power, including in the media, and have continued to promote anti-Russian narratives.

Russia has repeatedly argued that the Ukraine conflict was triggered by Kiev's persecution of Russian speakers in Donbass and by Western efforts to turn Ukraine into an anti-Russian project. Kiev and its Western backers have rejected Moscow's justification for the military operation, describing it as an unprovoked invasion.