Ukraine has officially appealed to foreign governments to recognise the Russian House network as a threat to national security.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote about this on X.
“Russia is waging a global battle for the minds of people through a comprehensive network of tools and channels, including Rossotrudnichestvo and so-called Russkiy Dom (“Russian House”) cultural centers. They in fact serve as tools for disinformation, destabilisation, and espionage,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister stressed.
He noted that in its appeal, Ukraine presented arguments in favour of restricting the network’s activities and completely shutting down these centres, stressing that “the cognitive dimension of modern warfare must not be underestimated.”
“We commend the measures the authorities took across Europe to block these networks including Germany, where Russian House was closed yesterday in Berlin after years of malign influence,” Sybiha said.
The Foreign Minister stressed that despite a wave of closures, some of these disinformation centres continue to operate in at least seven European countries. He added that the network’s activities are even more extensive in Africa, Central and East Asia, the Asia-Pacific region and South America.
Sybiha explained that in a number of countries, the network’s official infrastructure remains intact, while in some states Russian House centres are integrated into Russia’s diplomatic infrastructure.
“Our shared European home is not the place for “Russian houses” promoting war propaganda and actively working to shatter peace in Europe,” the Ukrainian minister stressed.
