Russian propagandists plan an exhibition in Italy to present the "recovery" of Mariupol
In the Italian city of Modena, there are plans to hold a propaganda exhibition claiming that Mariupol is allegedly "recovering quickly and qualitatively" after the Russian occupation. Oleh Nikolenko, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called it a "provocation" in a comment to LIGA.net.
The Facebook page of the event contains announcements in Italian and Russian. The text reveals propagandist messages with key phrases such as "Kyiv junta," "martyred city of bandit occupation," "symbolic city of the people's uprising in Donbas," and so on.
The organizers of the event, members of the Russia Emilia-Romagna Cultural Association, claim a "rapid recovery process" for Mariupol, which suffered significant damage during its occupation by regular Russian forces in the spring of 2022.
The propagandists plan to hold the exhibition on January 20 at 15:00 local time in the Civic Hall at Via Viterbo, 80. They promise to "present to the public the results of the work of the new city administration" after the occupation of Mariupol.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has already instructed the Ukrainian Embassy in Rome to prepare an official statement, Nikolenko said.
"On an official level, Italy firmly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. We expect an appropriate response to this propaganda event," he said.
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