On March 22, 2025, the Russian federal media outlet "Vashi Novosti (Your News)" organized a press tour for foreign journalists to the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia region. The Ukrainian Center for National Resistance called this trip part of a systematic information campaign by the Russian Federation aimed at legalizing the occupation of Ukrainian territories in the eyes of the international community. The Suspilne investigative editorial office has identified the participants in this press tour. Some of these foreigners have already published pro-Russian materials in their media. Some of them participated in such events earlier.
International "reporters" in the occupied territories
The "Foreign Journalists for Russia" project was launched on October 5, 2023, by the Russian media outlet "Vashi Novosti", controlled by Zakhar Prilepin, a writer, former State Duma deputy, and militant who has been under EU sanctions since 2022.
Since then, in addition to the trip to Zaporizhzhia in March, "Vashi Novosti" has organized at least two tours of foreign delegations to the occupied part of Donetsk region (in November 2023 and January 2024).
The trip in March 2025 for the foreign delegation pictured above was the seventh press tour organized by various Russian propaganda structures. The group included journalists from India, Indonesia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and European Serbia, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic.
The foreigners visited, in particular, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as well as temporarily occupied Melitopol, Energodar, Berdyansk and Tokmak. The journalists were shown destroyed buildings, blaming the Ukrainian Armed Forces for the shelling. According to the organizers, the goal of such press tours is "to disorganize Western propaganda efforts".
In total, at least 82 representatives of foreign media have participated in the press tours of "Vashi Novosti" since November 2023, propagandists say. After each tour, articles that broadcast pro-Russian messages appeared in foreign media. According to the Russians, the total reach of the audience that read such materials exceeds 100 million views.
After the latest March tour to Zaporizhzhia region, such publications have not yet appeared in all media outlets whose journalists went on this tour.
A journalist from India accuses Ukraine of shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
Manish Kumar Jha states on his LinkedIn page that he is the editor-in-chief of the Indian television channel TV9. Manish specializes in defense, international politics, and geopolitics. In 2021, he became the first civilian member of the Indian Armed Forces’ think tank, where he researched military technology and policy.
On May 18, 2022, two days before the city was fully captured, Manish visited occupied Mariupol, as well as Novoazovsk, Donetsk, and Simferopol. Then the journalist got into the database of the "Peacemaker" website.
In 2024-2025, Manish Kumar Jha again visited the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine; in particular, he was at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. As a result of these trips, he published materials in which he accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine of attacks on Tokmak in Zaporizhzhia region, completely repeating Russian narratives.
In an interview to "Russia Today", Manish expressed his indignation at the number of attacks on the Zaporizhzhia NPP, saying that he saw a fragment of an American missile on the territory of the plant, as well as three Ukrainian drones.
A photo of a shell allegedly made in the United States was also published by the "Vashi Novosti" media outlet. With the OSINT weapons identification tools, the Suspilne investigative editorial office identified that the photo depicts a shell from the Soviet "Uragan" MLRS, which is used by both the Russian and Ukrainian armies.
In the same interview, Manish said that he had witnessed a missile strike on a bus in occupied Donetsk in 2023, which, according to him, killed nine people, including a child. The journalist noted that he had expected the reaction of the Western media to this tragedy, but never saw it. In his opinion, they "ignore the truth and use information for propaganda purposes, serving the interests of the elite lobby and the military-industrial complex".
We will remind that that year the Ukrainian side confirmed the fact of the explosion in occupied Donetsk, but drew attention to the special context of the event. Advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriuschenko, noted that such incidents are an element of a targeted information operation by Russia.
"After a terrorist attack on the unoccupied part of Ukraine, the Russians hit occupied Donetsk in order to cover up their own cannibalism with the staging of a "shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine" and create a moral justification for the killing of civilians in Ukraine," he wrote on his Telegram channel.
On the eve of this attack, on August 28, 2023, Russia fired 23 missiles at Ukrainian cities. One of them hit a high-rise apartment building in Uman. 23 people died.
"Do not trust the West": a Serbian journalist who prefers Russia
Miodrag Zarković is a Serbian journalist and media manager, head of news and television projects. He is the author and director of the pro-Russian film "Brothers against the enemy. A Serbian view of the war in Donbas", which advances the thesis that the EU and NATO are fueling conflicts, and equates "Ukrainian and Croatian fascism" because of their "hatred of Orthodoxy".
In 2016, Zarković worked for the Russian "Fund of Strategic Culture" media outlet, translating materials into Serbian and visiting occupied Donetsk. In 2018, he was in Luhansk as a journalist, and later continued to travel to Donbas. In the same year, he became an "independent observer" in the elections in the terrorist "Luhansk People’s Republic".
In March 2022, Zarković visited Mariupol and during the same year, he visited the occupied part of eastern Ukraine three times due to financial donations from the audience of his YouTube channel "HelmCast".
In an interview to the propaganda newspaper "Vreme", Zarković said that Serbian and Western media outlets are not providing "truthful" information about the war. He calls their reporting on Ukraine "tragicomic" and false.
"We should never trust any Western sources... Ukrainians are playing with nuclear fire," Zarković said after a trip to the Zaporizhzhia NPP in 2025, criticizing the IAEA’s insistence on its neutral position.
Propaganda for sale: a Slovenian journalist and author of pro-Russian merch
Mohar Borut Iztok is a Slovenian journalist, blogger, and creative director of the English-language pro-Russian media outlet "DD Geopolitics", which covers the war in Ukraine from positions that are in line with the Kremlin’s narratives.
After visiting the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP in March 2025, Iztok, in a comment for the propaganda RT, claimed that the fragments of "155-millimeter shells with clear markings of NATO countries" were on the territory of the plant, and criticized the IAEA for its alleged Ukraine-sided position:
"If Mr. Grossi (IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi — Ed.) and his team need additional help, we are ready to lend a helping hand. It seems that there are aspects that they are not seeing, and that is quite interesting."
Mohar also published an interview purportedly with a resident of Tokmak who blamed Ukraine for the shelling and praised the Russian pension and healthcare systems. Other people in his report emphasized that Ukraine allegedly most frequently hits the area where mostly workers, older people, and young people live.
The "DD Geopolitics" project positions itself as an analytical platform with a focus on geopolitical events. In April 2023, the Wall Street Journal investigated that the actual founder of the project is former US Navy officer Sarah Bils. She was previously known under the pseudonym "Donbass Devushka" and it was a media project that promoted Russian narratives in the English-speaking space.
As investigated by analysts of the #NAFO community, the channel was created in July 2022, and the following month Bils launched a Twitter account under the nickname @LuganskforLife. Later, these pages were transformed into the "DD Geopolitics" platform.
According to OSINT analyst Pekka Kallioniemi, the audience of "DD Geopolitics" on Twitter (X) and on Telegram is mostly made up of bots. In addition to spreading disinformation, the project is also involved in raising funds to support Russian military structures.
Mohar Iztok is also involved in the creation of various pro-Russian merch that was sold in Telegram channels.
Roman Blaško: Ukraine’s long-time enemy from the Czech Republic
Roman Blaško is a Czech journalist and politician who took an anti-Ukrainian stance during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. He served as editor of the newspaper "Haló noviny", owned by the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia. However, the Czech government banned the newspaper in April 2022.
In 2014, Blaško was an official observer from the European Parliament in the elections to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. At that time, he worked as an assistant to MEP Miloslav Ransdorf, a politician from the Czech Communist Party.
In September 2022, Blaško again became an "international observer" – this time at illegal referendums organized by Russia in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
In 2023, he published an interview with the so-called director of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, Yurii Chernychuk, a suspect in the Security Service of Ukraine investigation into collaboration and high treason. Chernychuk stated that "no one but Russia will control the Zaporizhzhia NPP, and its property belongs to the Russian Federation".
Three people who came to Russia from Indonesia
Muhammad Rusmadi is an Indonesian journalist, executive editor of the daily newspaper "Rakyat Merdeka" and its online platform "RM.id". Rusmadi publishes materials about his journalistic activities on social networks, in particular on Instagram. He recorded his last trip to Moscow in March 2025, from where he went to the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region, where he stayed for a week.
In a long report published on "RM.id", he describes in detail the 24-hour journey from Moscow to the temporarily occupied Kyrylivka through the checkpoint in the village of Veselo-Voznesenka. Both settlements are in Zaporizhzhia region. The journalist repeatedly calls the occupied territory a "new Russian region".
In his report, Rusmadi also says that a school bus was allegedly hit in Melitopol on February 4, 2025. He quotes Yulia Sazhayeva, an adviser to the occupation administration, who claims that an American-made drone hit the bus, and that six children and the driver were injured. The author emotionally describes the scene of the incident, talks about notebooks and sweets in the bus cabin, and emphasizes that the bus was transporting exclusively civilians. At the same time, the report does not mention the presence of the Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine, shelling of civilian infrastructure by Russians, or forced deportations of children.
On April 10, 2025, Rusmadi published a complimentary article about Maksym Zubarev, the head of one of the institutions of the occupation administration in Zaporizhzhia region and a suspect in the Security Service of Ukraine investigation into the high treason case. Rusmadi focuses on the personal story of the collaborator, who was injured in a car explosion in 2023, but "remained strong in spirit" and continued to "move Zaporizhzhia forward".
On April 9, the Russian embassy in Indonesia published a video with three journalists, including Rusmadi and two women, who visited the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region.
Devie Rahmawati is an Indonesian sociologist and lecturer at the University of Indonesia, specializing in mass communication, media literacy, and public policy. As a media expert, she regularly appears in Indonesian media, participates in public discussions and educational programs.
Before her trip to Zaporizhzhia region, Rahmawati was also an "observer" during the presidential elections in Russia in March 2024. At that time, she expressed admiration for the high turnout and the so-called interest of citizens.
After visiting the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region, in public appearances, including on "Russia Today", Rahmawati emphasized that she had been surprised by the "normality of life" in the frontline zone. She noted that the Russian authorities had allegedly created conditions under which people there "live as if nothing had happened". She added that she had met with students, told them about Indonesia, and was impressed by the level of calm in the region.
Jayanti Retno Mandasari, a reporter for the state broadcaster "Radio Republik Indonesia", also visited Tokmak, where she prepared a major report titled "Tokmak, a city of hope against the background of the Russia-Ukraine conflict". The report called Zaporizhzhia a "new Russian region" that joined the Russian Federation following a "referendum".
The journalist took comments from Ihor Suntsov, a former designer of the "Motor Sich" plant projects and now deputy to the occupation "governor" Yevhen Balytskyi. He claimed that the new "authorities" had reconstructed 160 schools, built hospitals, and purchased 350 buses. He also stated the need for medical and educational workers, promising bonuses of 2 million rubles, including to foreigners, but on condition that they knew the Russian language.
Mandasari noted that the regional budget was financed by Russia, but the region was already "self-sufficient" due to agriculture. The article concludes with a mention of the UN Security Council resolution on the need for a peaceful settlement.
An expert from Georgia
Vaso (Vakhtang) Kapanadze is a Georgian journalist, political scientist, and commentator on international processes, known for his pro-Russian stance in public speeches. Until 2022, he worked for the Georgian newspaper "Rezonansi".
Since 2024, Russian media have referred to Kapanadze as an expert of the (little-known) think tank "Expert Plus", which is mentioned mainly in Russian government or foreign pro-Kremlin sources, in particular in "Sputnik Georgia". There is no detailed public information about the center, and its analytical activity is limited to individual commentaries dominated by narratives justifying Russia’s policy in the region, in particular regarding the war in Ukraine.
In March 2024, Kapanadze appeared as an "international observer" at the presidential elections in the Russian Federation. According to "Sputnik", he praised the Russian electoral system, emphasizing the "high turnout" and "welcoming attitude towards the Georgian delegation".
In a review article after a trip to Zaporizhzhia, Kapanadze stated that Ukrainians and Russians are "practically one nation" and called for countering "Western propaganda". During a conversation with representatives of the Maksym Kryvonis military detachment, he said that former Ukrainian soldiers who chose to serve in the ranks of the Russian army are fighting to change the government in Kyiv, not for the sake of Moscow’s interests. The Kryvonis detachment includes Ukrainian soldiers who were taken prisoners of war.
Support of the Russian war from Kazakhstan
Viktor Skrypnychenko is the owner of the hyperlocal media outlet "Ustynka Live" and the coordinator of the Cossack National Cultural Center of the East Kazakhstan region. This organization has been officially engaged in the "revival of Cossack traditions" and "strengthening interethnic harmony" since 2006, but in fact, it promotes pro-Russian narratives in the region.
In 2019, Skrypnychenko visited occupied Crimea.
Despite participating in a propaganda press tour to the temporarily occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region in March 2025, there are no materials related to this trip on Viktor Skrypnychenko’s public platforms.
Russian propaganda tools
According to the Spanish media outlet "El Periódico", in October 2023, Ukraine compiled a "confidential list" of 18 foreign journalists who took part in pro-Russian press tours to the occupied territories. They are accused of spreading Kremlin propaganda. The publication also took a comment from representatives of the Russian "Vashi Novosti". They suggested that the Spanish media outlet joins the next trip for "objectivity of assessment".
We requested the Security Service of Ukraine to indicate whether the foreign journalists, who were in the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia region in March 2025 and whom we identified, are on the list of media workers who are banned from entering Ukraine for violating the rules of crossing the border.
The Security Service of Ukraine responded that it constantly takes measures to identify and block activities that threaten national security, but "does not comment on the conduct or non-conduct of counterintelligence measures against specific individuals".
The Center for National Resistance, in response to our questions, indicated that the press tours of foreign journalists to the occupied territories are part of a Russian information operation. Such trips are intended to legitimize the occupation authorities and create the illusion of "normal life" under the control of the Russian Federation. The tour participants are shown only previously prepared locations, and there is no access to independent sources of information.
"The international community, especially in democratic countries, is skeptical of these visits. Journalists invited by Russia often represent marginal or pro-Russian media outlets with a low level of trust and coverage. For example, media representatives from countries that openly sympathize with the Russian Federation have participated in such tours," the Center stated.
The Center calls on the international community not to recognize such visits and to trust only official Ukrainian sources or international missions that operate in accordance with the law.
We hope that the media workers, whom we identified and who promote Russian propaganda in their countries, will at least be included in the list of those banned from entering Ukraine.