Faces of russian propaganda in the TOT: andrey rudenko
The CCD continues its series on the main perpetrators of russian propaganda in Ukraine’s occupied territories. Today’s focus is on andrey rudenko, a so-called war correspondent operating in occupied Donetsk.
▫️ rudenko was among the first local journalists to support the occupation regime in 2014, marking his entry into the information war against Ukraine. He created propaganda segments for russian TV channels. With the full-scale invasion, the “war correspondent” gained popularity among russian audiences for his reports from the front lines, often using his Telegram channel to spread kremlin propaganda.
▫️ He has repeatedly been caught disseminating fakes aimed at discrediting Ukraine. Some of these fakes have been outright absurd: for instance, he accused Ukraine of selling weapons to Hamas militants and tried to support his claims with footage of an “Israeli tank” being destroyed. It later emerged that the tank was russian, and the video came from official Ukrainian Armed Forces channels.
▫️ In March 2024, rudenko provided information support for illegal presidential elections in the occupied territories and even acted as a “putin confidant.”
rudenko has been charged in Ukraine with collaboration, violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and justifying russian aggression.
