On Sunday, February 2, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksiy Makeiev, reported that the controversial advertising campaign by the Russian publication "Meduza," featuring images of Ukrainians affected by the war and explosions in Ukrainian cities, is being halted in Berlin and other German cities. At the same time, he urged citizens abroad to ensure that the advertisements have indeed been discontinued.
According to Makeiev, he sent a letter to the Berlin advertising agency Lure, which developed and disseminated the Russian media's advertising campaign, demanding the removal of videos and images that included footage from Ukraine. Notably, among the images that the media used for the campaign are photos of Yaroslav Bazylevych at his wife and daughters' funeral in Lviv and clips of explosions in Ukrainian cities. The agency explained that they created the advertisement to support Russian journalists who "risk their lives every day to bring us the truth."
“The key point in the letter is that Lure has removed all campaign-related materials from the network and instructed partners to immediately cease their display on any platforms. 'The cessation of the display of all materials related to the campaign' signifies the end of the campaign,” the ambassador stated.
At the same time, the diplomat urged Ukrainians in Germany to verify that the "Meduza" advertising campaign has indeed been canceled. Furthermore, Oleksiy Makeiev mentioned that he conveyed the advertising agency's apologies to Yaroslav Bazylevych, whose photo was used in the Russian media campaign.
Indeed, the agency's page has removed the video featuring footage from Ukraine, and in its place, Lure published a post with public apologies. The agency stated that it remains in solidarity with Ukraine, but also hinted that it continues to support "Meduza" – "we want to support independent journalism that changes Russian propaganda."