Unveiling the Process of Establishing Putin's Covert Propaganda Warfare Force
In Russia, an entire generation of individuals is being trained as "war reporters" in a specific school, intended for deployment in the occupied territories of Ukraine. These individuals, masquerading as journalists, are part of a rapidly expanding propaganda network, diligently manipulating both Russian and Ukrainian populations.
Russia's war isn't just physical; it's also fought in the information sphere. When Russian forces seize control of Ukrainian territories, so does press freedom and the very existence of independent media. In occupied cities like Luhansk, Donetsk, and Saporischschja, as well as parts of Kherson, the battle for dominance in the information battlefield is waged by a different kind of army - a new generation of propagandists who peddle Kremlin-backed narratives in disguise as journalists.
These propagandists are currently honing their skills in specialized training centers in Russia and occupied territories. One such facility is the "School of War Correspondents" (or "Shkola Voenkora") in Moscow. Advertisements for the program's second round have recently surfaced on Russian Telegram channels, including in occupied Saporischschja. The target audience: young journalists, bloggers, directors, media professionals, and students. They will learn how to disseminate propaganda in the occupied territories during this free, online education. The top graduates will then enjoy an "intensive course with active war correspondents" and a visit to the rear areas of the SVO zone, Russia's term for its ongoing "military special operation."
Hefty financial backing for the "School of War Correspondents"
A photograph on the "School of War Correspondents" website shows the first-year graduates, hailing from various Russian regions, posing in front of a damaged building in the occupied territories of Ukraine. A video on Russian video platform Rutube showcases them on a two-week "press tour" in Mariupol, Luhansk, and other occupied areas in April. "Many think it's far away. No, it's here with us, in our country," explains Sergey Trofimow, who professes to be a journalist. The belief that the occupied territories are inherently Russian is a frequent, self-evident truth in state media.
The second year begins on October 1. But who's backing this propaganda machine? The project received partial funding from Russia's "Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives" as part of a competition - which also includes projects aimed at merging the Donbass and liberated territories into a single, unified cultural, educational, and civilizational space. President Putin regarded the promotion of culture in the occupied territories as a special mission for the foundation, established by a 2021 decree of the Russian president.
While Putin's foundation took responsibility for part of the school project's funding, half of the 9.2 million ruble (approximately 95,000 euro) cost was expected to be covered by the project's initiators themselves. The "School of War Correspondents" was founded by 26-year-old Vera Gennadeeva Kironenko, hailing from the rural village of Kuskovo in central Russia. Her Instagram profile features a slender, young woman. Kironenko does not seem to post patriotic content.
Anna K., a Russian oppositionist with a different pseudonym, revealed on her Telegram channel that Kironenko is a graduate of the journalism faculty of the Technical State University (TSU) in Tomsk and a "fan" of writer Sachar Prilepin. Prilepin is a renowned nationalist, Putin loyalist, war advocate, and internationally unrecognized "People's Republic of Donetsk" military officer in 2017.
According to Anna K., Kironenko participated in a workshop led by Prilepin in 2022. The "War Correspondents School" project was originally scheduled to run from November 2023 to April 2024. Its goal was to train aspiring and practicing journalists, as well as interested students in war journalism, featuring a practical component in the occupied "People's Republics of DNR and LNR." The project description on the "Presidential Fund" website suggested that the sharing of journalistic experiences between Russia and the Donbass would ensure journalistic objectivity.
Jeanne Cavelier, head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk at Reporter Without Borders (RSF), explained that the purpose of such schools is to disseminate Kremlin-aligned messages under the guise of journalistic principles. "That's what makes it so dangerous from our perspective, because it makes everything even more unclear," she said. While Russia trains an "army of propagandists" to operate in occupied Ukrainian territories, Russian forces continue to stifle dissenting voices and target those who refuse collaboration in the occupied areas. RSF condemns these tactics aimed at imposing the Kremlin's narrative.
Nataliya Wyhowska, who monitors Russia's propaganda system in occupied Saporischschja for the Ukrainian Institute of Mass Information, noted that all Ukrainian media have been "russified" under occupation. At least 300 editorial offices in the Saporischschja, Kherson, and Luhansk regions have been affected.
Anna K., who studied at the same faculty as Kironenko, informed ntv that Kironenko was driven by conviction. "She genuinely believes in what she's doing," Anna K. wrote in a Telegram post. "As a journalism graduate from TSU Tomsk, you have two options: become a journalist at Mediazona or become a propagandist. There is no third option."
Additional patriotic events are in the pipeline, according to Wyhowska, who thinks that several individuals are drawn by the profitable business prospects. She stated, "This propaganda generates a massive income." Presently, a propaganda media network is being constructed, with financial backing from Moscow. Russia intends to allocate 63.6 million rubles (approximately 600,000 euros) for 110 similar militant and patriotic events, as per Wyhowska's disclosure.
The Ukrainian group OPORA reported that the Presidential Fund financed 181 projects in the annexed Ukrainian territories from the onset of the major invasion in February 2022 until the end of the first quarter of this year, amounting to over 11 million euros. Since then, Kironenko's school project has received further support from the foundation, totalling nearly 55,000 euros for the period up to 2025.
Examining the list of lecturers indicates the project's deep-rooted association with the Kremlin-controlled propaganda machine: Along with the prominent military blogger and founder of the large Telegram channel WarGonzo, Semjon Pegov, and "war reporters" for state media RT, "Komsomolskaya Pravda", and "Izvestia", Alexander Malkevich is also mentioned. He gained recognition as the president of the propaganda network run by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. Due to his ties to the Wagner network, Malkevich was included on the US sanctions list.
RSF has uncovered Malkevich's activities and the widespread propaganda network he constructed in southeastern Ukraine. Within a short period, the media group "ZaMedia" appeared in "Novorossiya" - the Russian term for southeastern and eastern Ukraine - alongside pro-Russian Telegram channels and newspapers that saturated the information void with Kremlin narratives. A "journalism school" for 100 Ukrainian youth was established in the occupied city of Saporischschja to "enhance the quality and quantity of media content." The fact that Malkevich is now instructing "war correspondents" as a teacher makes his objective clear, according to Cavelier from RSF. "No journalism school would invite someone like him."
"All these lecturers are merely propagating an ideology and can, for instance, incite hatred against Ukrainians by labeling them as Nazis. They are not providing information, but trying to mimic journalistic standards." In response to RSF's accusations on their website, it is stated: "The war correspondents school thanks RSF for the attention. However, we would like to clarify that during this period, not only a thousand, but five thousand people were students." Cavelier believes that the correspondence between RSF and propagandists suggests that they are leveraging international human rights organizations to boost their profile: "They want to participate in this information war that Putin is leading. Being mentioned by an international NGO only strengthens their image towards the regime even more."
The inaugural "war reports" from the graduates have now been released, such as the feature "Life continues in Mariupol" on a regional online portal of the central Russian region of Saratov. A graduate interviewed Ukrainian prisoners of war for the small news portal "Your News" which has 96,000 subscribers on YouTube. It is noteworthy that three out of the four prisoners appear intimidated, refusing to look at the "correspondent" or the camera.
They aspire to portray: "We are superior." In her questions, the graduate interweaves truth and fiction: She inquires about the fire in the Odessa trade union building in May 2014, where 48 mostly pro-Russian activists perished, and about "Russian prisoners to whom the Ukrainians often subject bestial cruelty." A UN report on the human rights situation during the Ukraine war contradicts the graduate's insinuations that Russian prisoners of war are being mistreated. She casually notes her question: "They claim different things about the Ukrainian army. For example, about European values, the promotion of homosexual relationships among soldiers. Are these rumors or is it really happening?"
Dr. Wyhowska from the Institute of Mass Media, who analyzes propaganda content, explains that its primary target is the Russian audience. "People in our occupied territories are aware of the truth. But it seems to me that all these topics, all these news about the ideal life in our occupied territories are intended for Russia and the international community. They are meant to convey: We are outstanding."
The "School of War Correspondents" is funded in part by Russia's "Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives," with President Putin regarding the promotion of culture in occupied territories as a special mission for the foundation. The Commission, presumably referring to the Russian government or its relevant bodies, has also allocated additional funding to support similar propaganda events.
