“From a photo of alleged children killed in the Donbass. In Germany there is a propaganda campaign, behind which Russia stands – the investigation of Reuters on February 18, 20:51 Share: Banner of the exhibition Angel Alley (Photo: Reuters/Mari Saito) In Germany, a mobile photo exhibition with the image by which the network of people related to Moscow, Reuters reports. The agency notes that the exhibition of black and white photos that”, – WRITE ON: ua.news
Banner of the exhibition Angel Alley (Photo: Reuters/Mari Saito)
In Germany there is a mobile photo exhibition with images of children, allegedly killed in the war of Russia against Ukraine, behind which there is a network of people related to Moscow, Reuters reports.
The agency notes that the exhibition of black and white photos, which is usually called the Angel Walk, is shown in urban squares in Germany and is part of the wider campaign called the children of war, which calls for European leaders to stop Ukraine and fighting.
Although publicly organizers of the exhibition state that they are not related to any government and are guided by the desire to put an end to the suffering of innocent young people, to organize, promote and support the campaign, the network of people related to the Russian Federation helped, the article said. Reuters refers to people who are familiar with parts of the network, review of accounts on social networks, corporate documents and state records.
According to the documents that have provided two sources of European intelligence, the goal of the campaign is to penetrate protest movements in the European Union and to weaken the support of governments that supply weapons to Ukraine to protect against Russia. The sources of the agency claim that the documents are intercepted reports on the course of work from some network members in Germany to their manager in Moscow. Reports contain photographs of the Angel Walk of Angels during political protests in Germany and reports on the campaign behind it.
The article states that the details of this Russian propaganda operation became known after the creation of an operational group by German intelligence officers to prevent foreign countries to influence the elections that should take place in Germany this month. Reuters reminds that Germany is the second largest supply of weapons to Ukraine after the United States.
Reuters reports show how a network of people, some of which have ties with the Russian state, pushed the Kremlin’s agenda in Germany. However, some details did not work, including who is the author of reports on the activities of the campaign children of war, the agency writes.
Reuters was able to find out that at the center of the network is a school teacher of Soviet descent, who lives in Germany and organizes photo exhibitions and who helped at least two other Soviet emigrants in Germany. In addition, according to the agency, the Russian media, which is governed by the RF GRU Colonel, advertised the exhibition of angels.
Reuters sources in European intelligence that gave him documents are called the Moscow manager of the network of the current military intelligence officer Vitaliy Konovalov. Journalists independently identified a person with the same name and date of birth in Russian tax and telephone records, where the place of work is the building, which is part of the GRU headquarters in Moscow. The man who responded to the mobile phone number related to Konovalov, completed the conversation when he was told that he was talking to a journalist in the article. Konovalov also did not respond to written messages, and the game and the Russian media mentioned above did not answer the comments, just like the Kremlin. Zelensky’s office also did not respond to Reuters’ request about comments.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied that Russia was trying to influence the elections in Europe, stating that the main parties are falsely accused it to explain their failures in the elections.
Oksana Walter, the most famous public photo exhibition, is a school teacher of Soviet descent Oksana Walter, who stated Reuters that she and her campaign children of war are not related to the Russian Federation, and that she knows nothing about the campaign reports.
The agency notes that the Walter campaign, which has been going on since 2022, has been supported, in particular, by a former AFD MP Ulrich Ome, who visited an exhibition in Magdeburg in 2023. The video published in social networks related to the organizers of the exhibition, one can see how Ome states “Russia – not my enemy” against the backdrop of banners with children’s faces.
Ome stated Reuters that Oksana first met Walter that day near her stand near the AFD action, noting that he already knew who she was. This AFD representative stated that the suffering of the civilian population in the conflict “can not leave anyone indifferent” and that he opposes sanctions against Moscow because “the population always loses on both sides.”
The following year, at a demonstration in Frankfurt, which was attended by the right group, one of the Angel Angel Logos could be seen on the stage from which the speakers turned to the crowd and the exhibit itself was displayed opposite the AFD booth.
In this German farmillion, the party stated Reuters that they did not know about the group behind the photo exhibition and excluded that the party was under its influence. In turn, Walter claims that her activity “In no way related to any political movement or political organization. “
The article reports that the exhibition of the Angel Walk first appeared in Cologne on June 4, 2022. It included a series of large banners, including several rows of black and white photos of children allegedly killed in the Donbass-occupied territories. Reuters notes that the controlled Russian administration of the occupied territories claimed that from 2014 to 2024, 239 children were killed in the Donbass.
The key elements of the exhibition are reminiscent of the PROC-campaign with the support of the Kremlin, started on June 1, Reuters reports. This campaign was also focused on the photos of the children who died in the Donbass and, according to the agency’s website, received a grant from the Kremlin agency for $ 200,000.
The campaign supported by Moscow also used the name of the Angel Alley – so, according to details about a grant on the Kremlin website, a military memorial in Donetsk is called in the article. The grant application states that the project was to take place online and include physical events in Russia. It also identifies at least eight foreign countries, including Germany, where the media and local partners have to promote this concept.
According to the corporate records, which was viewed by Reuters journalists, a Russian film producer Vadim Goryain is a non -profit company, which suggested the idea that the Kremlin is funded by the Kremlin. His account in Vkontakte reports that he studied at the Faculty of Military Psychology at the Institute of Defense of Russia. Neither Goryainov nor the Kremlin Agency The Presidential Fund of Cultural Initiatives responded to requests for comments, and the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation did not answer the questions about Goryanov.
Reuters did not find evidence of interaction between the Goryanov team and the organizers of the Cologne exhibition, but the agency managed to find people from the former USSR who live in Germany and strengthen Russia’s message.
The 42-year-old Oksana Walter told Reuters, born in the former Soviet Kazakhstan in the family of Russian and Ukrainka, and later moved to Germany, where he works as a teacher. She claims that because of her multinational origin “cannot be against a particular country. “
Walter was in relations with an ethnic German of Soviet descent, a member of the AFD Party, Alex Berg, who stated Reuters that he was opposed to the war and suffering of children. He and Walter told reporters that their relationship had ended about a year ago.
Walter stated that he does not support and receives no support “from any state structure of any country. ” Answering Reuters who finances the campaign, Walter said, “I realize all my ideas at my own expense.”
She claims that her campaign has expanded to cover other conflicts.
“The group also covered the death of children during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ”the article said.
The key promoter of the Walter campaign was the Russian news agency Anna-News, which, according to two sources in European intelligence and two people who previously worked in the media related to the game.
The sources of European intelligence showed Reuters that, according to them, was a letter from the head of Anna-News to the GRU officer asking for the intercession of the intelligence agency to protect him from the tax requirements of Russia. The letter is said that Anna-NEWS deserves support because “Defends patriotic, distributive values, protecting Russia’s interests in the information space. ” In addition, the biographical data of the editor -in -chief of Anatoly Matviychuk published on this site states that he is a retired GRU colonel. The Anna-News account in VKontakte has a photo of Matviychuk editor in Russian military uniform.
Anna-News publishes Walter Support Supports since the end of 2022. In December 2022, in the Telegram-channel Anna-News campaign Walter Children of War was named “Important ”by a project. The newspaper has published more than a dozen share materials, including videos and photos of a photo exhibition.
Walter stated Reuters that she has nothing to do with Anna-News except that they published news about some of her events.
Another native of Soviet Russia named Eugene Bort has created a Telegram channel that supplied European political news for Anna-News. He stated Reuters that he provided practical assistance, financial assistance and gave advice to Walter and her campaign. While in Berlin, Bort managed businesses, including a catering business and a marketing firm, as well as created online portals that publish news from Europe in German and Russian, the article reports. Bort stated that he had provided Anna-News from protests in Berlin and attended his Moscow offices earlier, calling him a legitimate information agency and saying that he knew nothing about Matviychuk’s previous work and other employees.
According to the board, he created a site for the project. He found a firm for the manufacture of large banners with photos of children, gave money for campaign expenses, and gave advice. Walter acknowledged that the board provided some financial assistance, which, she said, was several hundred euros. The only advice of the board, which she said, was not to support anti -German measures. The 47-year-old board said Reuters that he had helped Walter because they were friends and he shares her opinion that children needed peace. According to him, he never performed any tasks and did not take money from any state body of Russia.
Bort also met with a Russian named Andrey Bogdanov, who was involved in the public relations of Putin’s only Russia during the first term Putin as President of the Russian Federation. This is evidenced by a photo that journalists saw, and also confirmed the board itself. Two people close to the Kremlin reported Reuters that Bogdanov still regularly performs a pre -election robot On behalf of the Kremlin, as well as the main Russian allomon. He also ran for the President of the Russian Federation in 2008, when Dmitry Medvedev took the post of Russian president.
Bort said Reuters that they and Bogdanov saw each other at major events and that their contacts concerned Masonic affairs, as well as that they had quarreled last year. According to German corporate documents, the board is registered as a treasurer of the German-Russian Masonic Lodge in Berlin. Bogdanov did not answer the request to comment on this report, and the Kremlin did not answer the question about him.
Bort stated that he had ceased cooperation with Anna-News until the full-scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine in 2022, but Anna-News continued until May 2024 repost news from the Telegram-channel created by him. Bort claims that he has lost access to Telegram in 2023, after he lost his mobile phone with login data and does not know who is currently driving the channel.
Both Bort and Walter have stated that they are against Reuters to publish their photos or report some facts about them, such as belonging to the Masons. They argued that these facts and images are private personal information under European data protection laws.
Reuters reports details of Walter and board and their participation in pro -Russian reports because it is a matter of public interest.
According to two sources in the European intelligence, while the Walter’s campaign was unfolding, Moscow was receiving reports on its course, and the recipient, according to them, was the current GRU officer Konovalov.
European sources have shared with Reuters four progress reports and a planned document covering the events from spring 2023 to January 2024. The reports were not signed and the agency could not determine who wrote them or how they were transferred. They describe how unknown activists involved in the campaign, they supplied banners, formulated slogans and otherwise facilitated political demonstrations in Germany.
The reports refer to the influence of activists, including the statement of success in penetration into protest movements. One report emphasizes the role of activists in the left action for peace in November 2023 and claims that they “penetrated the protest structure. ” Reuters could not confirm these statements.
The planned document of January 8, 2024 describes assistance with branding, slogans and other assistance to the future protests of farmers against the reduction of subsidies: “We are involved in a protest movement, which really destroys German politics,” – said the unnamed author of the report.
The organizers of the farm protest stated that they knew nothing about Walter and its group.
Both Walter and Bort have stated that they do not share the goals set out in the reports on the course of work – penetration into German policy to cause disagreement and aggravate riots.