Kiev slams German state media over ‘Russian propaganda’
The Russian-language section of Deutsche Welle (DW) is “spreading Russian propaganda,” Oleg Nikolaenko, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has claimed, while calling on Berlin to take action.
He vented anger at DW on his Facebook page on Wednesday, saying that the German state-funded outlet was a “stooge for Russian propaganda, manipulates quotes and misrepresents the causes and consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.”
The post includes several screenshots, of what he sees as DW’s wrongdoing.
One of the messages reported an initiative by a Russian political party last month to designate Ukraine “a terrorist state.”
Another was from Vogue magazine, which disproved claims that in 1939 it published a glamorous photo of Adolf Hitler and his companion Eva Braun. The theme became popular in Russian social media after the magazine printed images of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and his wife Elena last month, with users comparing the actual photoshoot with the fictional one.
Nikolaenko was also apparently unhappy with DW’s coverage of a possible disaster at the Russia-controlled Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, a poll on a ban of all Russians from the Schengen zone, and even Zelensky’s statement calling for such a restrictive measure.
The Ukrainian diplomat recalled that the German government had banned Russian media outlets like RT from broadcasting in the country, adding: “We are calling on our German partners to react to the narratives of the Russian propaganda, which are being spread in the DW content.”
