Propaganda report about "reconstruction": MFA demands explanations from ZDF over visit of their journalist to Mariupol

Ukraine demands explanations from the German public broadcaster ZDF regarding the visit of their journalist to occupied Mariupol, who filmed a report in the spirit of Russian propagandists  .

This was reported by Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko, UNN reports .  

Distorting reality is not journalism. In addition, the visit of the head of the Moscow bureau of the ZDF TV channel to the occupied Mariupol without the consent of Ukraine is a violation of Ukrainian law. We call on ZDF to provide an official explanation

He noted that  violation of Ukrainian legislation could affect the further work of the media in Ukraine.  

Context

According to BILD, journalist Armin Körper, who heads the channel's Moscow bureau, filmed a report about the city in the spirit of Russian propagandists. The channel presented the program as "a rare look at the Russian occupation.

ZDF correspondent Körper spoke about the "large amount of destruction" he saw. However, he also noted "a lot of reconstruction work" in the city: "Streets, schools, residential buildings and entire neighborhoods are being rebuilt. And it is happening very quickly. Mariupol is not a ghost town," the journalist cynically said.

Russian media subsequently quoted him.  Kurper  also said that the TV channel's team reached Mariupol independently, from Moscow via Rostov-on-Don.  

The report was strongly criticized. For example, Eastern Europe expert Serhiy Sumlennyi of the European Center for Resilience Initiative wrote on X (formerly Twitter): 

ZDF seriously says that before the Russian occupation, it was forbidden to speak Russian in the theater, and so many people are happy that Russia occupied the city

In addition, the fact that the journalists entered Mariupol with Russian documents caused outrage in the German media space. 

On January 30, an editorial comment appeared on the page with the publication of the ZDF report: 

ZDF takes criticism of its reports from Mariupol seriously. The director of the Moscow studio, Armin Körper, traveled to Mariupol as a journalist to get an independent picture of the situation in the territories occupied in violation of international law. He talks about the city that was completely destroyed as a result of the Russian aggressive war and its forced Russification. Armin Körper suggests that opponents of the Russian occupation have to fear reprisals if they talk to a Western journalist

   Appendix

In January 2024, the mayor's office of the Italian city of Modena revoked permission to hold a propaganda exhibition about the alleged "heyday" of Mariupol under Russian occupation.