Journalist Armin Coerper from the German public broadcaster ZDF, who heads the channel’s Moscow bureau, has filmed a story that distorts the picture of life in Russian-occupied Mariupol.

The journalist tried to create the impression that the majority of the residents in the city, which has been under Russian occupation for almost two years, are pro-Russian. Coerper also mentions the city's reconstruction, without emphasising that the Russians destroyed it.

"Mariupol is not a ghost town; I want to make that clear," said Körper. The report also mentions that before the Russian occupation, the bombed theatre had a ban on performances in the Russian language, but "now the situation has changed," Coerper said.

The journalist says that "the city is functioning, shops and restaurants are open." Additionally, ZDF journalist adds, "There is heating, hot water, and internet."

"Resistance? I don't see anything like that," stated Coerper, reporting that Russians are settling in Mariupol. The journalist also mentioned that the city needs people for the economy to start working again.

However, the ZDF channel noted that Coerper "chose an ambiguous phrase 'the city is functioning,' assuring that 'isolating only this quote gives only a shortened idea of the reporter's impressions.'"

"Instead, Armin Coerper describes how Russia is trying to create an impression of normalcy and reconstruction with significant financial resources," the material states.

ZDF also claims that in their report from Ukraine, they "left no doubt" that Mariupol was a territory illegally occupied by Russia, and who the aggressor and victim were in this war.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev, responding to a post by media expert Diana Dutsyk on Facebook, stated that he shares the outrage over ZDF's story. He added that the story provoked sharply negative reactions among many German experts and journalists, including Coerper's colleagues from the channel.

"This is a disaster," said one of them regarding the report. The embassy immediately addressed the editorial office with a letter about the unacceptable nature of such stories, and they have already received a response acknowledging the mistake and assurances of respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity. "We will continue to work with the editorial offices to prevent such incidents in the future," Makeiev noted.

On 9 January, the local authorities in Modena, Italy, cancelled permission for an exhibition organised by Russian propagandists about the supposed "rapid recovery and prosperity" of the occupied city of Mariupol, planned for 20 January.

The event’s advertising contains the usual Kremlin narratives about an alleged "civilian uprising" in Donbas – actually the actions of Russian saboteurs during the seizure of power in the region in 2014 – and the "rapid rebuilding process" in the city, which was devastated by Russia’s regular forces during its occupation in the spring of 2022.

Online Ukrainian communities in Italy are calling for action to prevent the exhibition from going ahead.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Italy sent an official request to cancel the event.