I must admit that I occasionally enjoy podcasts explaining the secrets behind well-known magic tricks (the three-shell game, mentalism, levitation, etc.). After reading recent news from Russia, I’ve come to the conclusion that these tricks offer a clue to how Russian propaganda has achieved what seems impossible to common
Tigran Keosayan hosted the International Pilorama program on the Russian state-controlled NTV channel. His directorial career began in 1992. Since then, he has directed about 20 films, including the propaganda film "The Crimean Bridge. Made with Love!"
Autocratic regimes like Russia are becoming increasingly bold in their efforts to undermine the principles and norms that came to define the democratic world order in the aftermath of World War II. A month after the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov even declared
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning the adoption of Russian children by citizens of countries where gender transitioning is legal, the Russian government’s legal information website published on Nov. 23.
Russian disinformation groups have been linked to viral attacks targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a U.S. intelligence official said on Oct. 22.
The following opinion piece accompanies the Kyiv Independent's War Crimes Investigations Unit's newly released documentary, "Shadows Across the River." Watch the documentary by clicking here. “Let Russia retain control over occupied Ukrainian territories to finally freeze this war!” This refrain, repeated in media and political discourse worldwide, has become a
"Russia is currently responsible for 80% of influence operations in Europe. This is four times more than the rest of the world combined," Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said at a conference in Prague on Oct. 9.
On the night of Jan. 14, 2023, a monument to the great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko was dismantled from the central square of Melitopol, a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine. Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, said Russian forces removed the monument to eradicate every trace of Ukraine in
Almost immediately after a reported second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, reports emerged of the suspect’s apparent support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Text messages shared with the Kyiv Independent and conversations with other foreigners living and working in Ukraine paint a picture, however, of
Not for the first time, there are mixed messages emanating from the Kremlin. The Russian president said he supports Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, while the Kremlin’s extensive propaganda machine is apparently very much behind Donald Trump. In comments at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on Sept. 5,
Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on Aug. 20, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. An isolated land in the East is shrouded in darkness. An evil lord,
Russia has banned 92 individuals from entering the country, including journalists from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.
The Kremlin expects a "quite optimistic" scenario of several months of fighting to regain the territory, and efforts now are aimed at placating the Russian population and getting them used to this timeline.
Authorities say that Russia remains the most significant threat in terms of election disinformation, while there are signs that Iran is increasing its activities and China is taking a cautious approach regarding the 2024 U.S. presidential race.
Ukraine was “a blind spot” for Germans up until Moscow’s full-scale invasion, Franziska Davies, a historian of Eastern and Eastern Central Europe, told the Kyiv Independent in an interview. “And if there is a blind spot, propaganda narratives can easily fill it with falsehoods,” Davies said, explaining why Russia-planted
Scrambling Kremlin propagandists have projected conflicting narratives of disinformation and spin to deflect blame from Russia's July 8 massive missile attack that shocked the world by striking Kyiv’s primary children’s hospital. The deadliest attack in months involving nearly 40 missiles targeting Kyiv and other regions threatens to backfire
Fidesz and its politicians reportedly spent 2 million euros in five months, promoting anti-Western narratives. The party paid for six out of 10 most promoted videos.
The five Russian propagandists in the report are Vladimir Solovyov, Margarita Simonyan, Dmitry Kiselyov, Dmitry Medvedev and Sergey Mardan.
Center for Countering Disinformation forecast the launch of a new Russian psychological operation about opening the second front in the region, aiming to "stir up mass panic" in Ukrainian society.
Yurii Bardash, a Ukraine-born producer and musician who fled to Russia after the outbreak of the full-scale war, is suspected of spreading war propaganda and justifying Moscow's aggression, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on May 22.
Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, Izvestia, and Rossiyskaya Gazeta were recognized as such that spread and supported Russian propaganda and the war against Ukraine.
Tomasz Szmydt, a judge of the provincial administrative court in Warsaw, left Poland for Belarus and said he intends to apply for political asylum due to his "disagreement" with the Polish government's policies.
“Do you cooperate with independent Russian journalists to reach a Russian audience?” We at the Kyiv Independent hear variations of this question at every event we attend, and the audience rarely likes our answer: “No, we don’t; we don’t see the point.” A beautiful room in the old
A U.S. lawmaker has mocked Marjorie Taylor Greene by adding an amendment to the Ukraine aid bill requiring that she be appointed "Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy to the United States Congress."
Moscow is trying to undermine Ukraine's support in the U.S., using its troll farms and political strategists, in light of Kyiv's critical need for further aid to defend itself from Russia, the Washington Post reported on April 8 after reviewing internal Kremlin documents obtained by a European intelligence service.
Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently weaponized and distorted history throughout his time in power since 2000. In a recent interview with U.S. far-right commentator Tucker Carlson, Putin went back more than 1,000 years to justify
Dmitry Kiselyov was sanctioned and his property and assets were blocked by Ukraine in January 2023 when President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to impose personal sanctions on 119 individuals.
Russian presidential administration official Sergey Kiriyenko and former Vladimir Putin’s advisor Vladislav Surkov are on the list of those involved in the “Maidan-3” destabilizing campaign of Ukraine.
Editor's note: This investigation, based on leaks obtained by Delfi Estonia and compiled for a joint investigation with VSquare and Frontstory.pl, Expressen, Meduza and iStories, Paper Trail Media, Der Spiegel and ZDF, Der Standard, and Tamedia publications, has been republished by the Kyiv Independent with VSquare's permission. “I will
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said in an interview with Russian media on Feb. 22 that Ukrainian citizens in occupied Ukraine who attempt sabotage against Russia should be "exposed and punished, sent to Siberia ... for re-education in forced labor camps."
Andrey Morozov, who wrote under the pseudonym "Murz" on Telegram, was a pro-Kremlin commentator who participated in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian state-run media and other military bloggers said he died by suicide.
Our video reporter Iryna Matviyishyn speaks about some of the common misconceptions about Ukraine that are spread by Russian propaganda. We launched "Ukraine's True History," a series to explain Ukraine’s past and present without distortions. The first episode debunks the 10 most common misconceptions about Ukrainian history. Watch it
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