Russian state television channels and news agencies have largely ignored US President Donald Trump’s recent criticism of Vladimir Putin, which began late last week, Agenstvo reported on April 28.
On April 27-28, federal broadcasters edited out Trump’s remarks criticizing the Russian leader from their coverage. Instead, the state-run channel Russia-1 focused on claims that Ukraine “continues to request military aid from the United States but is now prepared to abandon its claims to Crimea.”
The channel also aired a segment in which Trump, when asked whether he noticed a change in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s stance, responded: “Yes, I see that he has become calmer. […] And I think he wants to make a deal.”
Russia’s Channel One also reported that Zelenskyy was “still asking for weapons but has become less categorical about Crimea.” The broadcast included Trump’s response to a question on whether he believed Ukraine was ready to give up its claim to Crimea, to which Trump said, “I think so.”
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Both Russia-1 and Channel One aired footage of Trump describing Zelenskyy’s meeting at the Vatican, where the Ukrainian president “said he needed more weapons, but he has been saying that for three years.”
However, both federal channels omitted Trump’s call for Putin to “stop shooting, sit down, and sign a deal.”
Trump’s April 27 remarks were also censored by the state-run agencies TASS and RIA Novosti. Like the federal television channels, both agencies focused on Trump’s comments about Zelenskyy while omitting his criticism of Putin. They quoted Trump as saying that Zelenskyy had “become calmer,” was prepared to abandon claims to Crimea, and was ready to negotiate a deal.
According to Agenstvo, TASS and RIA Novosti had already begun removing Trump’s criticisms of Putin on April 24, after the US president urged the Russian leader to “stop” following a missile strike on Kyiv that killed 12 people and injured 90 civilians. Notably, the agencies did not report Trump’s direct appeal to Putin: “VLADIMIR, STOP!”
Pro-Kremlin newspapers and online outlets have also selectively quoted Trump’s statements, omitting his recent criticism of Putin, including Gazeta.ru, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Lenta.ru, and Komsomolskaya Pravda.
On April 27, following his conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of Pope Francis' funeral, the US President Donald Trump criticized Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian civilian areas, questioning whether Putin was stalling and suggesting he might not be serious about ending the war.
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
