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Russian TV Blames Nymphs For Retread 'Ukraine' Footage


The Russian report suggested the body was a civilian victim killed at the hands of Ukrainian forces to intimidate pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region.
The Russian report suggested the body was a civilian victim killed at the hands of Ukrainian forces to intimidate pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region.
Russian state television has found a scapegoat for its silly mistake of airing old footage of a corpse slain in Russia's North Caucasus, and suggesting it was a civilian killed by Kyiv's forces in eastern Ukraine.

Commenting on a lengthy Rossia-1 newscast that recently featured the retread footage, deputy All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company head Dmitry Kiselyov has said that "young, nymph video technicians" were responsible.

"I haven't seen that report but what it had was an error," Kiselyov was quoted by Russia's Slon.ru as saying on May 19. "An error, but in no way a manipulation," he stressed.

State-owned broadcaster Rossia-1 aired the footage depicting the splayed corpse of a man in an open field on May 16. The channel suggested he was a civilian victim killed at the hands of Ukrainian forces to intimidate pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region.

However, it quickly emerged that the footage was identical to a report by Rossia's sister channel about a counterterrorism operation carried out by Russian forces in the restive North Caucasus Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.

That report was aired on November 18, 2012, by Rossia-24.

Kiselyov said he was "sure there is an internal investigation of this matter going on" at the state television company.

-- Farangis Najibullah

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Written by RFE/RL editors and correspondents, Transmission serves up news, comment, and the odd silly dictator story. While our primary concern is with foreign policy, Transmission is also a place for the ideas -- some serious, some irreverent -- that bubble up from our bureaus. The name recognizes RFE/RL's role as a surrogate broadcaster to places without free media. You can write us at transmission+rferl.org

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