Russian Media Uses Photo of Ukrainian War Victim in Ad Campaign, Sparks Outrage
A photo of Yaroslav Bazylevych, a Ukrainian man who lost his entire family when a Russian missile hit their apartment building, has been used in an ad campaign by a Russian media outlet. The image was taken at the funeral of Bazylevych’s family.
The campaign, which was created by a Berlin-based agency, uses photos of Russian atrocities in Ukraine to promote Meduza, an independent Russian media outlet. The video was screened across European capitals as part of a widespread promotional campaign.
Bazylevych told the Kyiv Independent that he considers the use of his photo “unacceptable”. He said that no one contacted him to ask for permission to use the picture. His family members, including his wife and three daughters, were killed in the attack on September 4.
The Ukrainian government has also spoken out against the campaign. The Foreign Ministry called it a “disgrace” and demanded that all similar content be removed from media platforms.
Meduza said that the video was meant to raise funds for their crowdfunding efforts. However, they did not publicly state who financed the campaign or where the funds originated from.
Bazylevych has confirmed that he plans to pursue legal action to stop the use of this ad campaign.
