Russia hosted another propaganda tour for an international delegation of pro-Russian activists, journalists, and politicians in occupied Donetsk, as reported by pro-Russian regional resources, according to Yulia Harkusha, the Institute of Mass Information representative for Donetsk oblast.
The delegation included 10 people from eight countries: Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Slovakia, the USA, Turkey, France, and the Czech Republic.
Among them are former Prime Minister of Slovakia Jan Čarnogursky, former US Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, and Brazilian publicist Rafael Muchado.
The delegation also included a former long-time member of the Czech Republic parliament’s upper house, Jaroslav Dubrava, who was an observer at the illegal sham election in Luhansk in 2014.
The delegation visited locations often featured in Russian propaganda, such as the “Alley of Angels” and the “Alley of Heroes”, as well as the “Great Patriotic War Museum”. They were received by the Russian-appointed “children’s rights commissioner” Svetlana Malakhai. She peddled the Kremlin’s narratives about “the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ crimes against the children of the Donbas,” which the delegation members parroted after her.
The group also repeated other Russian propaganda talking points, in particular alleging that the Revolution of Dignity was a “coup d’état” and that “the Donbas went against Kyiv’s policy to defend itself against destruction.” They also said that the “SMO” (as Russia calls the full-scale war against Ukraine. – Ed.) had some “historical pretexts” and that the Donbas was following its own “unique path to the formation of the Donetsk People’s Republic.”
The issue of water supply to the occupied Donetsk oblast was also raised during the press tour and traditionally, with the propagandists blaming Ukraine of the shortage, which they called “genocide against the people of the DPR.”
The press tour was organized by a team led by the Russian propagandist, politician, and publicist Zakhar Prilepin as part of the Kremlin-affiliated project “Foreign Journalists for Russia”.
IMI has repeatedly reported on such international press tourists. These are usually ex-politicians and officials, domestically unpopular activists, little-known or completely obscure journalists, grift columnists and analysts. Often journalists make such trips individually and not in organised tours. The press tours also take place in other occupied regions such as Zaporizhzhia oblast.
