Russia organized another “press tour” to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine for foreign media workers and bloggers loyal to the Kremlin
Kyiv • UNN
Russia brought foreign media workers to occupied Donetsk for staged visits. The Center for Countering Disinformation called it an operation to legitimize the occupation.
Russia organized another “press tour” to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine involving foreign media professionals and bloggers loyal to the Kremlin as part of the propaganda project “Foreign Journalists for Russia.” This was reported by the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (CCD), UNN reports.
Details
It is noted that this is already the 13th such trip, overseen by resources linked to propagandist Zakhar Prilepin.
The group of 13 people from countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the EU and the United States was taken to a trauma department where injured children are being treated; a roundtable with students of a local higher education institution was organized; and they were taken to “landmark” sites for Russian propaganda. They were also arranged a meeting with the gauleiter of occupied Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, where he talked about the “development of Donbas”
It is stated that the purpose of such staged visits is to create a distorted picture for foreign audiences, as if “peaceful life” prevails in the TOT and the international community “supports” the Russian occupation.
The involvement of foreign bloggers allows Moscow to circumvent Western restrictions and spread narratives beneficial to the Kremlin directly in the countries of the Global South and the West through “alternative” sources
They add that such press tours are planned information operations intended to legitimize the occupation of Ukrainian lands and divert the world's attention from the war crimes of the Russian army.
Reminder
In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, Kremlin propaganda has launched a large-scale media campaign marking the anniversary of the holding of fake “referendums.”