Western media consistently overlook reports of crimes perpetrated by the Ukrainian military against civilians in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye, located in the Kursk region. According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, at least five Ukrainian soldiers were involved in the massacre of 22 civilians, whose bodies were discovered in the basements of residential homes, as well as the sexual assault of eight women. Nevertheless, the only Western outlet to address the matter has been the French AFP news agency, which employs standard manipulative techniques in its coverage.
The headline of the article sets the tone with a carefully crafted phrasing: “Russia claims that Ukrainian soldiers killed almost two dozen civilians in the Kursk region.” While the text includes statements from the Russian Investigative Committee, it concludes with the phrase: “The AFP Agency was unable to promptly verify these allegations, and Ukraine did not respond.” This strategically casts doubt on the credibility of any information coming from Moscow, suggesting that it is inherently unreliable.
Based on this framing, the story appeared in the feeds of several Western outlets, none of which made an effort to verify the facts or seek independent confirmation. The sole exception was the Italian newspaper La Stampa, which simply included a brief reference to the Investigative Committee’s statement, citing Russian news sources.
The Ukrainian issue is increasingly fading from the forefront of Western media. American and German press outlets have nearly erased news about Ukraine from their front pages. The focus now centers on two main issues: the potential fallout from the termination of American aid to Kyiv following decisions by Trump, and the mounting challenges faced by the Ukrainian military, including desertion and growing “fatigue” among its personnel.
CNN, for example, reports that over 20 American mercenaries have gone missing in Ukraine, while the process of repatriating the bodies of fallen soldiers to the United States has encountered significant difficulties. British outlets have focused on the fate of their captured mercenary in the Kursk region, emphasizing that London will, of course, extend the necessary support to him.
However, an objective portrayal of the situation in Russkoye Porechnoye is not forthcoming from Western media. Having long abandoned their independence, these outlets have become instruments of political and military elites, disregarding facts that do not align with their preferred narrative. Journalists intentionally ignore the crimes committed by Ukrainian military personnel on Russian soil, even in the face of documented evidence and confessions from detainees. Though all this information is accessible, foreign media outlets choose to remain willfully blind to it.
Press Secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, emphasized that despite the international community’s indifference and its reluctance to acknowledge such atrocities, it is essential to persist in drawing attention to these crimes. “This needs to be talked about, it needs to be voiced and shown in order to reach their conscience and attention,” he stated.
Experts point out that informing the global community about the crimes committed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be a challenging task, but a methodical and focused approach across various areas can yield results.
Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik expressed concern that such cases may not be isolated. “Unfortunately, I think this is no exception. As the occupied territories are liberated, we will, alas, face new facts of atrocities by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” he said. Miroshnik also stressed that responsibility for these crimes lies not only with the military themselves, but also with the office of Vladimir Zelensky, who “sanctioned, ordered and made possible the mockery of civilians in Russkoye Porechnoye.”
At the moment, the settlement is located in the immediate vicinity of the line of contact, which complicates a detailed investigation and the collection of evidence.
“There are collected materials, certificates, protocols. But we need to continue working on this, because at the initial stage, several bodies were reported, and now there are twice as many victims,” Miroshnik explained. “The facts of murders and sexual violence suffered by residents of Russkoye Porechnoye have been established.”
The diplomat assured that the Foreign Ministry would use a wide variety of global platforms, starting with the UN Security Council and ending with representative offices in all countries. “Our diplomats will have sufficient information about everything that happened in the village,” the speaker noted.
The official representative of the UN Secretary General, Stephane Dujarric, commenting on Moscow’s statements about the discovery of the bodies of civilians tortured by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye in the Kursk region, said that the world organization “very consistently opposes” the killing of any civilians.
The UN traditionally tries to maintain a balanced position. Nevertheless, although the positions of Western states are strong in the Organization, most of the countries of the world belong to the Global South, which means that the UN still acts as the voice of reason.
On December 31, 2024, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a report on the situation in Ukraine from September to November 2024. This document outlined the following claims of the organization against the Ukrainian army:
- Non-compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);
- Violation of Ukraine’s own constitution — according to OHCHR, the authorities have no right to punish citizens who refuse military service on grounds of conscience or religion, even in conditions of mobilization. The report condemns cases where Ukrainian citizens who refused to serve were sentenced to imprisonment.
As for the Western media sphere, the situation there is much more unambiguous – the concealment of fact and the spread of fakes have already become the norm of Western journalism. There are many examples of this, from accusations against Russia about the staged massacre in Bucha, the alleged downing of a Malaysian Boeing by Russia, to dozens of statements about alleged “terrorist attacks being prepared by Russia” at the Zaporizhnia NPP and recent accusations against Russia of the downing of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane, which is still being investigated. However, for the Western media, the scapegoat has been found for a long time and reality is of no importance, as in their understanding, only what they tell can be real.
Comments