A promotional campaign by Latvia-based Russian independent news outlet Meduza has generated controversy after its launch in European cities. It was designed to highlight challenges faced by exiled Russian journalists, but has triggered criticism after incorporating footage of Ukrainian civilian casualties, which many deemed to be an exploitation of the suffering of Ukrainians.
Russian independent media has faced severe repression since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This led to the shutdown of major independent outlets such as Meduza, Novaya Gazeta, TV Rain, and others. Many journalists received threats and arrest warrants, prompting a mass exodus from the country to cities like Tbilisi, Riga, and Berlin. Independent media still reaches many Russians— Meduza, for example, reports having over 10 million monthly readers in Russia despite being blocked there since 2022.
The campaign features footage of explosions in Ukraine and images of Yaroslav Bazylevych at the funeral of his wife and three daughters, who were killed in a Russian missile strike in 2024. They later deleted a social media post with this image.
Victoria Feshak from the Ukrainian community organization Viche Berlin encountered the advertisement at a Berlin cinema and brought it to public attention on X, questioning the use of Ukrainian casualties in promoting a Russian media outlet
“I saw footage of explosions in Ukraine, Yaroslav Bazylevych at his family’s funeral, other traumatic events of Ukrainians […] And you know what it was? It was a damn advertisement for Russian media. […] After all those horrifying shots, they tell you about the SUFFERING of Russians in exile. […] Behind me were sitting some Russians, who sighed and complained that they came to the cinema to relax but encountered politics,” Feshak wrote.
Viche Berlin criticized the campaign’s messaging, stating it “downplays Russia’s responsibility for this war and uses real Ukrainian suffering to portray Russians as victims.”
Berlin-based creative agency Lure developed the campaign pro bono, launching it with the slogan “Where other headlines end, Meduza begins.” The campaign includes synchronized projections in Berlin, London, Paris, and Helsinki, along with cinema advertisements, wildposting campaigns, and podcast features.
They defended their decision amid criticism, saying the campaign aims “to support the work of brave journalists who risk their lives daily to bring us the truth.”
The agency cited threats of “kidnapping and poisoning” that Meduza’s journalists allegedly face from the Kremlin.
According to Meduza, the campaign marks the outlet’s first advertising initiative in its 10-year history and targets Western audiences rather than Russian readers.
Meduza states the campaign aims to address challenges faced by Russian journalism in exile, describing the industry as “practically on the verge of collapse.”
The outlet reports that its business model was first disrupted in 2021 when the Russian government designated it as a “foreign agent” and again in 2022 when Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine prevented it from receiving payments from within Russia.
“For Meduza, audience expansion is a matter of survival. For years, the Kremlin has sought to destroy the outlet, primarily by attacking its funding sources,” the outlet wrote.
According to Meduza’s founders, Galina Timchenko and Ivan Kolpakov, the outlet currently receives monthly donations from 10,000 supporters but needs to increase this number significantly to ensure sustainability. Their goal is to return to their pre-war level of 33,000 monthly contributors.
Ukrainian Viche Berlin has called for the campaign’s removal from European cities, arguing it “downplays Russia’s responsibility for this war.”
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also issued a formal statement denouncing the use of images showing Ukrainian war victims in a promotional campaign for Russian news outlet.
“A special “award” for marketing cynicism and hypocrisy should be given to the Lure agency from Berlin. They showed Ukrainians who lost their families and homes in an advertising video for the Russian publication Meduza. Using our tragedy to arouse sympathy for Russians is an absolute disgrace,” the ministry wrote.
Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhyi called for “immediate removal of all advertising content that exploits Ukrainian suffering caused by Russian terror from all media platforms where it appeared.”
The Ministry has demanded an apology to the Ukrainian victims whose images were used in the campaign.
Related:
- Three generations of Ukrainian family killed in Russian strike – BBC
- Family of four killed in Russian attack on Pokrovsk district, 20 more civilians injured in Izium and Kryvyi Rih
- Lviv mourns mother and three daughters killed in Russian missile attack on 4 September
- “Putin’s Hitler-Jugend.” Russia builds tomorrow’s army with stolen Ukrainian children, Yale lab reveals
