Russian News Agency Publishes Then Deletes 'Victory' Report On Ukraine Invasion

A Russian news agency on Saturday published an article declaring victory on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but was later deleted from the website.

The article, headlined “The arrival of Russia and a new world” and published by the state-owned RIA-Novosti news agency, praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to use military force to return Ukraine to Russia.

“Ukraine has returned to Russia. This does not mean that its statehood will be liquidated, but it will be reorganized, re-established and returned to its natural state of part of the Russian world,” the article read.

The author of the article, Petr Akopov, also justified the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a step towards bringing “the Russian people together” and suggested that Moscow may also seek to increase its influence in Belarus.

The article was later taken down from the website. However, it remains on the Internet Archive website. A copy of the article is also still visible on Russia’s government-owned Sputnik news site.

A syndicated version in English of the article, titled “The New World Order,” was also published on Pakistan’s Frontier Post.

Many Twitter users said the article may have been intended for publication in anticipation of a swift victory in Ukraine. However, Christo Grozev, a journalist for fact-checker Bellingcat, said the piece was “extremely shocking, even for Kremlin standards.”

News of the premature publication comes as Ukrainian and Russian delegates on Monday sat down for the first direct negotiations between the two countries since Moscow’s invasion began last week. While it was unclear what Russian officials aimed for during the talks, Ukraine's delegates demanded an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of all Russian troops from the country.

It is unclear how Russia would respond to the demands. However, as of Monday, Russia has continued to bombard Ukraine with shelling and rocket attacks. At least nine civilians were killed in the city of Kharkiv during the latest attack, including a family of two adults and three children who were burned in their car. Four other people who were killed only came out of shelter to get water.

Overall, U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said it is estimated that 102 civilians have died in Ukraine, but noted that the real figure could be higher. A tally by Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs put civilian deaths at 352 as of Sunday.