Ukraine’s MFA slams NYT report from Kursk over ties with Akhmat forces
On July 12, The New York Times published a report from Russia’s Kursk region. It later emerged that members of the notorious Chechen Akhmat unit — known for committing war crimes — were involved in facilitating the report’s creation
A report entitled A Landscape of Death: What’s Left Where Ukraine Invaded Russia was published on the New York Times website on July 12.
The author of the article, Nanna Heitmann, spent six days in the border areas of Kursk, where, as stated in the article, she was “at times” accompanied by Akhmat militants who, according to the journalist, were “helping with evacuations” and “fought to reclaim the area.”
I reported there for six days, escorted at times by members of Russia’s Chechnya-based Akhmat special forces unit, which had fought to reclaim the area and was helping with evacuations. Drone attacks remained frequent. The sounds of incoming and outgoing fire were constant,” the author noted.
The article barely covers Ukraine’s position. The only reference is a statement from the Ukrainian Armed Forces denying Russian accusations of torture and civilian killings. The piece does not address the reasons behind Ukraine’s operation on Russian territory or provide any context for its actions.
Journalist Ostap Yarysh was the first to highlight this controversial cooperation.
In a post on social media platform X, he reminded readers that the Akhmat unit has been linked to torture, civilian executions, looting, and participation in Russia’s brutal filtration operations. He also noted their role in disseminating Kremlin propaganda.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi soon retweeted Yarysh’s post, reposting the message and criticizing The New York Times for cooperating with Russian war criminals.
“This isn’t balance or ‘the other side of the story.’ This is simply letting Russian propaganda mislead the audience. Sad to see Duranty-level manipulation return to NYT,” he said.
Note: Walter Duranty, a New York Times correspondent in the 1930s, is infamous for whitewashing Stalin’s regime and denying the Holodomor — the Soviet-orchestrated famine that killed millions of Ukrainians.
On Monday, July 14, the NYT article was published in the United States.
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