BirSaNN Posted June 4, 2023 Posted June 4, 2023 While Russia's notorious Wagner mercenaries have been at the forefront of fighting in Ukraine's ravaged eastern town of Bakhmut, a close associate of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has been involved in another battle - for the hearts and minds of people in occupied areas behind the front lines. Alexander Malkevich has helped set up pro-Russian TV stations in key areas captured since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022. Through his links to Prigozhin the media boss has been involved in projects spreading Russian influence from Africa to the US and he is under Western sanctions for spreading disinformation. Formally, Malkevich's job is running state-funded TV in Prigozhin's home city, St Petersburg. But in the summer of 2022 he moved to then-occupied parts of Ukraine, making the southern city of Kherson his base. His main task was to set up pro-Russian television stations in regions captured since the start of the full-scale invasion. He has masterminded Tavria TV in Kherson, Za TV in Melitopol and Mariupol 24 in the eastern Donetsk region. The channels' reporting strictly follows the Kremlin's propaganda narratives. For example, a recent programme aired by Tavria TV reminded its viewers of the reasons given by Moscow to justify its war against Ukraine. "Russian President Vladimir Putin says the special military operation was a forced step, because Moscow had been left with no other choice. Such security risks had been created for Russia that no other reaction was possible," it said. One major obstacle facing Malkevich was an acute shortage of people willing and able to work for his channels. To train staff, he opened a "media school" in Kherson, became head of the journalism department at the local university and authored a textbook for aspiring media workers in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, called "Real Russian journalism for new regions". Some of his students joined his TV stations before becoming legally adults. Two reporters who started working for Za TV and Tavria TV respectively were both employed at the age of just 16. The BBC has chosen not to identify the two girls because of their age. link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65675102
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