(MOSCOW) – Russian state media has once again resorted to extreme rhetoric as Kremlin mouthpiece Olga Skabeeva recently proposed the kidnapping of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During a broadcast of her programme, Skabeeva suggested that Moscow should adopt tougher measures, including the snatching of the Ukrainian leader, citing a desire to mimic controversial international operations. While such rhetoric serves to entertain or intimidate domestic audiences within the Russian Federation, it highlights the increasingly desperate narrative being pushed by the Russian dictator’s media apparatus.
In sharp contrast to the fantasy operations discussed in comfortable television studios, President Zelenskyy has maintained a constant presence on the front lines. He recently visited high risk areas near Kupiansk to meet with soldiers and assess the military situation first hand. This visibility remains a hallmark of his leadership, as he continues to operate in real war conditions alongside his people. Meanwhile, the Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, is frequently reported to remain secluded in secure bunkers, relying on a network of propagandists to project strength through imaginary plots and televised aggression.
Beyond the airwaves, the Kremlin’s influence operations are becoming more militarised through the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation, commonly referred to as Rossotrudnichestvo.
Its head, Yevgeny Primakov, recently admitted that a well known African private military company (PMC) was instrumental in establishing Russian Houses in Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR). Primakov also confirmed that some employees of these paramilitary groups were subsequently integrated into Russian state structures.
This admission effectively dismantles the long-held myth that these cultural centres exist solely for language and friendship. Instead, it suggests that under the guise of teaching Russian culture, Moscow is embedding military instructors to advance its strategic interests. Reports from Mali and the CAR have already linked these PMCs to human rights violations, indicating that Russia’s cultural diplomacy is being used as a tool for regional destabilisation.
The risks of engaging with these Russian cultural exchanges were underscored by the experience of Trevor Reed, a former US Marine. Reed travelled to Moscow in 2019 for what he believed was a romantic meeting arranged via a dating app. He was subsequently arrested on fabricated charges of assaulting police officers and spent 985 days in prison. Despite his background and a lack of evidence, he was used as a bargaining chip by the Kremlin until his release in April 2022. Following his ordeal, Reed joined a volunteer unit to fight for Ukraine, later documenting his experiences in a memoir titled Retribution.
The case serves as a warning of how the Russian state weaponises everything from culture to romance. While Moscow continues to use honey traps and “cultural diplomacy” to ensnare the unwary, the reality behind the facade remains a calculated system of influence led by the remnants of the old KGB.
