Lisa Haseldine

Lisa Haseldine

Lisa Haseldine is The Spectator's online commissioning editor - foreign affairs.

What Russians are really being told about war in Ukraine

From our UK edition

'They are lying to you here,' declared the placard held aloft by the journalist who stormed the set of one of Russia's most popular news channels this week. Marina Ovsyannikova also recorded a video saying she was ashamed to work for what she called a Kremlin propaganda network. So what are Russians really being told about Putin's war in Ukraine? British viewers might be surprised to learn there are plenty of similarities in what Russia’s media is reporting on compared to the Western media: the ever-increasing list of sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States on Russian companies and state figures, the shelling of Ukrainian cities and the meetings of leaders attempting to broker peace.

A war ‘crime’: How the Russian press covered the invasion of Ukraine

From our UK edition

What do Russians make of Putin's invasion of Ukraine? The violence has been condemned around the world, and it seems that thousands of Russians who have taken to the streets on anti-war protests agree that Putin has gone too far. But some Russians continue to support their president, in spite of suggestions from abroad that he has 'lost the plot'. The coverage in the Russian press of the first day of the invasion of Ukraine reflects the mixed feelings about the conflict. Here's how Russian newspapers reacted to war in Ukraine: Izvestiya Izvestiya is one of Russia’s most widely-circulated broadsheet newspapers, with a focus on bringing business news to its readership.