Ukrainian Misha Katsurin expressed his frustration with Russian propaganda, saying it is affecting the way people see Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
During an appearance on CNN, Katsurin shared a conversation he had with his father about the invasion.
“I told him we that we woke up from the bombing and that I took my little son who is a month old and we tried to escape and to save the family. And he started to argue. He said, ‘No, no, no everything is not like this,'” Katsurin explained.
He added, “He told me that Russia started a peaceful operation and they’re trying to save us from the Nazi regime which occupied our country. The most interesting thing was that Russian soldiers are giving to the local people food and warm clothing. So that’s the thing that he saw on the TV.”
Katsurin told CNN’s John Berman his father would not believe what he was telling him, adding, “I spent maybe five minutes trying to talk to him and then I just said goodbye.”
Check out his comments below:
STUNNING: "No no no, it's not like this."
— John Berman (@JohnBerman) March 9, 2022
–Ukrainian Misha Katsurin on what his father in Russia said when he called to tell him the Russians were bombing him. The deep reach of Russian propaganda. pic.twitter.com/M3DxMy4ZJe
After publishing a post on Instagram about his father’s disbelief, Katsurin said it was shared more than 135,000 times.
“I realized the problem is super widespread,” he said, adding, “We gathered with my colleagues and we created the website which is called ‘Father Believe.’ On this website we try to offer to people to call their relatives and to tell them the truth.”
Katsurin continued, “And we write down all the main questions of the Russia propaganda and the answers of these questions.”
He noted Russia has shut down Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
“The only way to get information is from the federal channels and that’s why, right now, relatives are the only media which can tell them some other side of the information,” Katsurin said.
NPR noted Russian media has played a significant role in promoting the country’s version of events to millions internationally, including on TV and radio stations.