The French TV channel France 24 removed from its website and from YouTube a story titled "War in Ukraine: Russian troops prepare for battle before the counteroffensive."
The story was filmed in a military camp of Russian troops in the occupied territory of Ukraine. In it, the Russian military demonstrated weapons, boasting that they were better than Western ones, saying that they were “protecting the history of their country” and were not afraid of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There was not a word about the fact that Russia attacked Ukraine in the material.
“About 30 kilometers from the front line, in a secret place, Russian troops are preparing for battle. Most of the soldiers here are not professionals, they are drafted from Siberia. They have already visited the front, and now they are preparing to return there, ”the report began, the Strana newspaper writes.
Ukrainian Ambassador to France Vadym Omelchenko called the story a bad example of “so-called “neutral journalism””:
“France 24 report from the position of the occupiers who are learning to kill Ukrainians. One can hardly imagine such a report from the Nazi positions in Normandy on the eve of D-Day,” he wrote on Twitter.
Omelchenko also noted that, speaking about the Ukrainian army, the journalist mentions "the counter-offensive of the enemy." “Which side are you on?” he asked the TV channel.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko called the report a “shame for journalism”:
“Reporting about the preparation of Russian troops to kill Ukrainians is a shame for journalism. A trip to the occupied territories without the permission of Ukraine violates Ukrainian law, and those who participate in this will be held accountable,” he said .
The channel itself has not yet commented on the appearance and removal of the plot.