Сприйняття російсько-української війни у в’єтнамській спільноті, пов’язаній з Україною: досвід діаспори, соціальні мережі та медійні наративи (2022–2025)

Abstract

The article examines how the Vietnamese community connected to Ukraine perceives the Russo-Ukrainian War in the contemporary digital media environment during the period 2022–2025. The empirical basis of the study consists of posts, comments, and discussions in Vietnamese-language social media, materials from official Vietnamese media outlets, and a small corpus of personal interviews with members of different segments of the Vietnamese community. Methodologically, the study combines frame analysis, diaspora studies, and elements of qualitative online communication analysis, which makes it possible to compare media narratives with respondents’ individual experiences and emotional reactions. The article traces the formation history of the Vietnamese community in Ukraine, its internal segmentation, and the specific features of its information practices during wartime. It shows that official Vietnamese media frame the war in diplomatically neutral terms, with an emphasis on peaceful settlement, humanitarian security, and adherence to the principle of non-interference. Instead, social networks form a much more polarized space, with a clearly pro-Ukrainian stance and pro-Russian voices. Based on the analysis of the material, three groups within the Vietnamese community connected to Ukraine are identified: those who evacuated to European countries after the outbreak of the full-scale invasion, those who returned to Vietnam, and those who remained in Ukraine. In each group, the war is interpreted through distinct experiences of migration, rootedness, and information practices; nevertheless, the invasion shock, support for Ukraine, and a desire for peace remain common. The analysis demonstrates that social networks have become the primary channel for information exchange, emotional support, and the formation of collective interpretation of the war within the Vietnamese community connected to Ukraine. Dominant war frames are reconstructed on the basis of the online corpus. Personal interviews serve to verify and refine the media data, helping to better understand motives, fears, adaptation strategies, and forms of solidarity within the diaspora. Overall, the article argues that perceptions of the war within the Vietnamese diaspora emerge at the intersection of diasporic memory, migration experience, national diplomatic frameworks, and global information flows.