Aleksandr Sladkov, military correspondent and propagandist

Aleksandr Sladkov/ Sladkov’s Telegram

Aleksandr Sladkov – Russian correspondent and propagandist. He works as a special correspondent for the program “Vesti” on the channel “Russia-1” (VGTRK).

Since 2014, he has operated in the occupied territories, justifying Russia’s crimes in Ukraine. He openly called for the genocide of civilians in Ukraine and the destruction of Ukrainian cities resisting occupation.

He has produced 15 propaganda films, with the most notable being “We Are Donbas!” (2017) and “Crimea. My Spring” (2020).

Sladkov spread narratives in line with Kremlin propaganda, alleging that Ukraine is a “neo-Nazi state.” He called for heavy missile strikes on Ukrainian cities and advocated using “Iskander” missiles to turn Kyiv’s main street, Khreshchatyk, “into smoke and ash.”

He accused the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) of “killing civilians.” Following the Russian missile strike on the Yavoriv military base in the Lviv region in March 2022 (which killed over 50 service members), Sladkov claimed it was “long overdue” and called the facility a “nest of NATO instructors training Aidar and Azov units.”

The propagandist also stated that the Russian army’s defeat in the Kharkiv region was “not a shameful retreat but a rapid withdrawal and regrouping.”

*The material was created in cooperation with the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

Main statements

1. He called on Ukrainians to “return to the Russian language” (February 22, 2022)

He humiliated Ukrainians who speak Ukrainian and urged them to speak Russian again. He accused the USA of external influence on Ukraine.

2. He called on Ukrainians to “return to the family”  Russia (February 26, 2022)

3. He accused Zelenskyy of not having a will to end the war (March 11, 2022)

He stated that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, did not want to stop the war and was not trying to save the country and the lives of his fellow citizens.

4. He urged to “kick NATO out of Ukraine” (March 13, 2022)

He rejoiced at the occupiers’ attack on the training ground in Yavoriv in the Lviv region, where over 50 Ukrainian servicemen died. He called this training ground “the nest of the NATO training contingent” and threatened the Alliance.

5. He stated that the US was inciting a bigger war and provoking Russia (March 16, 2022)

He accused the USA of supplying weapons to the Ukrainian military, claiming that this provoked the Russian occupiers to take harsher actions against Ukraine. He threatened that after the Western partners provide weapons, the Russian Federation will turn Ukraine “into smoke and ashes.”

6. He stated that the Russian Federation was at war with NATO in Ukraine, and the West supports fascism (April 20, 2022)

7. Due to the provision of weapons to the Ukrainians for protection against the Russian Federation, he accused the USA of being “willing to drown Ukraine in blood” (May 29, 2022)

8. He stated that Russian troops should reach the border with Poland (June 9, 2022)