Kremlin Spends up to $2 Billion per Year on International Anti-Ukrainian Information Campaign
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Vadym Prystaiko, said in his interview with Glavkom that Russia spends about $2 billion a year on its international anti-Ukraine campaign. “Moscow spends about $2 billion on promoting the policies of the Party abroad,” Prystaiko stated, noting that this money is used to fund mass media, such as Life News, Sputnik News, Russia Today and others. He noted that this was the amount estimated by Ukrainian diplomats and this figure could be higher.
“How did we get this amount? Roughly speaking, if it is known that legendary American, Larry King, conducts a talk-show on the RT Russian TV Channel, based on that, we can assess costs required for such a star and his fees, which he earned on CNN,” Prystaiko explained. He also mentioned how much Ukraine spends on promotion of its policies abroad.
“Seven million dollars is provided in the support of our community abroad – in Canada, the U.S.A., Kazakhstan and other countries, where 20 million Ukrainians reside. This money supports Ukrainian clubs, schools, the installation of monuments and popularization of the language. It also includes costs for information campaigns,” the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine reported.
According to him, greater funding was previously allocated for these goals to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. “For example, the budget of the MFA in 2008 on the promotion of Ukraine to NATO was $1 million. We conducted almost a hundred study visits, held numerous round-table discussions and press conferences with the participation of several mass media outlets for this money,” Prystaiko said.
“The representatives of the public and the Diaspora always came to ask questions – what have we done for the promotion of the interests of Ukraine? This year, it is the 75th Anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy and the 30th Anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster; these events require the holding of public events. There are thousands of other issues, which also require money. The referendum on the issue about the Ukraine-EU association will be held soon in the Netherlands. We need to support our Embassy and our information campaign. We need to help Dutchmen to understand that the enemy is those who claim the territory, not those who protect it,” the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine stressed.