Russian propagandists allowed to attend NATO event — what justifies the decision

Russian propagandists were allowed to attend a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. The event was attended by representatives of two Russian media outlets and a journalist from Belarus.

This was reported by Novyny.LIVE correspondent Halyna Ostapovets on Friday, October 18.

Why Russian propagandists were allowed to attend a NATO event

It was a surprise to Ukrainian journalists that representatives of Russian propaganda media were allowed to attend a NATO event.

"Two Russian media are present here. They are Novaya Gazeta and Mediazona. There is also a journalist from Belarus, but it is unclear which media he is from, because they do not communicate with us, and we do not communicate with them," the correspondent says.

NATO officials explained the admission of journalists from Russia to the event by the need to keep in touch with the Russian audience, among other things.

"It's an unpleasant surprise for us, for Ukrainian journalists," Ostapovets concluded.

On October 17, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Brussels. The Ukrainian President said that Ukraine is already part of the Alliance, as the Ukrainian military is holding the front with weapons from around the world.

For his part, Rutte noted that NATO has reviewed and taken into account the Victory Plan developed by Ukraine, but many details of this initiative remain to be discussed. He also stressed that Ukraine's path to Alliance membership is irreversible, but it is not clear when this will happen.