Canadian organization stops airing, supporting Russian propaganda film amid outrage

Under pressure from the Ukrainian community and diplomats, the Canadian organization that financed the Russian propaganda documentary "Russians at War" said it would no longer support it.

This was announced by the Chair the Board of Directors of TVO, Chris Day.

"We have listened to the Ukrainian-Canadian community and their thoughtful and heartfelt input. TVO’s Board of Directors has decided to respect the feedback we have received, and TVO will no longer be supporting or airing Russians at War," Day said.

He added that "TVO will be reviewing the process by which this project was funded and our brand leveraged."

Ukraine’s Consul General in Toronto Oleh Nikolenko praised the move by TVO, calling it a "positive" move. "We hope that a thorough investigation will determine how this Russian propaganda project received funding," Nikolenko wrote on Facebook,

He also called on the Toronto International Film Festival to "follow suit and cancel the screening of this film."

As reported, Russians at War is a documentary by Russian-Canadian director Anastasia Trofimova, who spent more than half a year embedded with a Russian battalion that is part of the invasion force in eastern Ukraine.

The film was a Canadian-French co-production. The description says it tells the stories of Russian soldiers, which will allegedly help the audience better understand the ongoing war.

Despite numerous calls from the Ukrainian community, the film was included in the program of the International Film Festival in Toronto. On Tuesday, about a thousand activists rallied in the city, demanding that the screening be canceled. Previously, this propaganda piece was aired at the Venice International Film Festival.

Photo: TIFF