# The foreign influencers helping Russia sell its occupation

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-foreign-influencers-helping-russia-sell-its-occupation/
- Published: 2026-11-13T19:32:27+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-13T22:05:23+00:00
- Original publisher: Kyiv Independent
- Original article: https://kyivindependent.com/the-foreign-influencers-helping-russia-sell-its-occupation/
- Topics: Culture, Europe, Travel, World

## Key points

- Fifteen foreign visitors toured Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast.
- Their posts presented the war-ravaged region as welcoming.
- Experts say the trip could amplify Russian messaging.

## Summary

Fifteen young visitors from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe were taken on an all-expenses-paid tour of Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast during a state-backed youth festival in September 2026. Their social media posts showed a welcoming destination, including visits to a rebuilt theatre and a shooting range, while leaving out the region’s destruction and repression. Experts say the staged trip could help Russia improve its image, legitimise its occupation and spread pro-Russian messages through visitors’ accounts.

The International Festival of Youth is organised primarily by Russia’s Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and promotes the Kremlin’s vision of a “multipolar world”. Organisers said around 10,000 people attended its main event in Yekaterinburg, half from abroad; Russia’s 2026 budget allocated 4.7 billion roubles, about US$57 million, to the festival directorate. Russia seized parts of Donetsk Oblast in 2014 and occupied more of the region after its 2022 full-scale invasion.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.