Organisers of Ukranian child war victims exhibition in Germany linked to Kremlin, Reuters reports
Source: Reuters, citing European intelligence sources
Details: The organisers of the exhibition publicly claim that they are not affiliated with any government and call for an end to hostilities. However, an analysis of their documentation and social media presence suggests that the primary goal of their activities is "to penetrate protest movements in the European Union and erode support for governments supplying weapons to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia".
Since its launch in 2022, the exhibition has appeared in cities across Germany. The display, titled Alley of Angels, debuted in the city of Cologne on 4 June 2022 during a gathering of activists from Germany's Russian-speaking community.
Organisation's website.
Screenshot: Reuters
The large banners depict alleged victims from Russia's occupied Donbas region and echo the Kremlin narrative accusing Ukrainians of killing children in the city of Donetsk. The name Alley of Angels comes from a military memorial in Donetsk.
Oksana Walter, a schoolteacher who immigrated from the Soviet Union to Germany, is the campaign's organiser. She receives assistance from at least two other Soviet-era emigrants in Germany.
Two European intelligence sources revealed that Moscow received progress reports on the campaign as it was being implemented. The recipient was purportedly Vitalii Konovalov, the network's Moscow handler and a current official of Russia's military intelligence service (GRU). The reports described how unknown campaign activists provided banners, slogans, and other support for political demonstrations in Germany.
Walter told Reuters that neither she nor her campaign Kinder des Krieges (Children of War) has any ties to the Russian state. She claimed to have no knowledge of the reports sent to Moscow.
Oksana Walter.
Photo: Reuters
A key distributor of Walter's campaign is the Russian news agency ANNA-News. European intelligence sources and two former employees of the agency indicate that ANNA-News is linked to the Russian GRU.
The campaign's activities have also attracted the attention of members of Germany's far-right, anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which advocates for closer ties with Moscow. Former AfD MP Ulrich Oehme stated in 2023 that "Russia is not my enemy".
Germany's intelligence service, BfV, told Reuters that amid Russia's war against Ukraine, Moscow "has a significant and obvious interest in influencing election outcomes to advance its strategic interests". However, the BfV declined to comment on Reuters' findings regarding the activities of the network.
The Kremlin did not respond to detailed questions about whether Russian authorities were involved in the photo exhibition, the reports on its progress, or attempts to influence German politics through such campaigns.
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