Section: The Netherlands
Vanity Military Selfies Are Spoiling Russia’s Attack in Ukraine
Images mixed by author. “We shelled Ukraine all night long.” These are the words a young Russian soldier wrote on his social network page last week, where he published a photograph of military equipment in an open field. When the post went viral, the soldier removed the word “Ukraine” from the caption. Then his account...
The Angriest Man in Odessa is on the Front Lines of Ukraine’s Information War
This article is part of an extensive RuNet Echo study of Russian-language blogosphere in Eastern Ukraine. Explore the complete interview series on the Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered page. Most of the unrest that followed the ouster of Viktor Yanukovych was centered in Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk, but other parts of Ukraine did not escape unscathed....
The Mouthpiece of Totalitarian Propaganda — Crimea’s Colonel Cassad
This article is part of an extensive RuNet Echo study of Russian-language blogosphere in Eastern Ukraine. Explore the complete interview series on the Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered page. Since the Yanukovych regime fell in February 2014, one of the most popular explanations for the political violence that gripped the south and east of Ukraine is...
Camera Phones vs. Kalashnikovs in Ukraine’s Separtist-held Luhansk
This article is part of an extensive RuNet Echo study of Russian-language blogosphere in Eastern Ukraine. Explore the complete interview series on the Eastern Ukraine Unfiltered page. Ukraine’s media landscape has never been subject to the sort of top-down state control found in Russia (though the Yanukovych regime certainly tried its best...
Spinning the MH17 Tragedy, Moscow’s Victory Isn’t What You Think
Is the Kremlin intentionally promoting false conspiracy theories about BUK missiles? Images mixed by Kevin Rothrock. The day after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 fell from the sky, the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs released a video that it claims proves Moscow’s complicity in the tragedy. The video supposedly shows a truck carrying a...
Russia Is About to Lose “Fake News,” But the Internet Freedoms Going with It Are Real
TV Rain owner Aleksandr Vinokurov posted on Twitter that Vladimir Putin was on his way to Ukraine to negotiate with President Poroshenko. That wasn’t the real story. Images mixed by author. The owner of a prominent TV news channel caused an uproar this week when he tweeted a fake news story about Vladimir Putin rushing to Kyiv for emergency...
The Death and Gloom of Donetsk and Gaza
Vladimir Putin in Israel, visiting a memorial dedicated to the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany. June 25, 2012. Kremlin press service, public domain. There were two headline-grabbing events on Thursday, July 17: the downing of Malaysian Flight MH17, presumably by separatists in eastern Ukraine, and the beginning of Israel’s ground...
Malaysia Airlines Crash in Ukraine Brings on Heart-Wrenching Déjà Vu for Chinese Families Still Waiting on MH370 Answers
Ukrainians bring flowers, candles and toys to the entrance of the Dutch Embassy in Kiev on June 17, 2014. Malaysian Airlines airliner MH17 Amsterdam – Kuala Lumpur was shot down earlier in the day. Photo by Oleksandr Ratushniak. Copyright Demotix The crash of a Malaysian Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board,...
Russian State TV Edits Wikipedia to Blame Ukraine for MH17 Crash
The war in Ukraine moves to Wikipedia. Images mixed by author. A day after a horrific plane crash in eastern Ukraine claimed the lives of nearly 300 people, speculation about who is to blame for shooting down the aircraft is in full swing. Leaders of Ukraine, Russia, and even the separatists in Donetsk have all placed responsibility on each...
The 5 Most Insensitive Reactions to the MH17 Crash in Ukraine
So much for “knowing that feel,” when it comes to polemics surrounding the downed Malaysian airliner. Images mixed by Kevin Rothrock. Russian officials, politicians, and media personalities were quick to react to the crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which went down over Eastern Ukraine on Thursday, July 17. Authorities in...
