New cold war: Russia’s self-defence narrative is the winner in Egypt
Egypt’s state-run media ecosystem has become an echo chamber for Russia’s narrative on the war in Ukraine
Russia and Egypt have strong bilateral relations dating back to at least the 16th century when the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria looked to the Russian Orthodox Church for support. That relationship has continued over the centuries, intensifying and ebbing depending on who’s in power. Following the short-lived administration of Mohamed Morsi as president of Egypt and Russia’s support for the ascension of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi between 2013 and 2014, ties between the two countries have hardly been sturdier.
In 2018, Russia and Egypt signed an agreement on comprehensive partnership and strategic economic, military, security, and trade cooperation. But while Russia is a serious investor in Egypt’s infrastructure, it is also making inroads into the media ecosystem — which has become instrumental in shaping narratives about the ongoing war with Ukraine.
It is essential for Russia not only to reach Arab-speaking people in the MENA region through Egypt’s media architecture but also to win over Egyptians themselves in the propaganda war. A study by the Middle East Institute Policy Centre found that the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine spiked food prices to unmanageable levels in Egypt, increasing the cost of wheat by 44% and sunflower oil by 32%. The war has also affected Egypt’s export sector. According to this study by researchers from Arish University, the Nordic Africa Institute, and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Egyptian enterprises exporting agricultural produce to Russia and Ukraine have lost significant revenue because of the war, and some have been forced to lay off staff.
Years before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, RT Arabic and Sputnik Arabic emerged as top sources of news in many Arab countries, including Egypt. According to a survey conducted in 2015, RT was among the top three news channels in six Arab countries and had a daily audience greater than America’s Alhurra and the Arabic versions of BBC, Sky News, and CCTV. Alexa rankings from 2018 also showed that RT’s website was more popular than those of Al-Arabiya, Al-Jazeera, and Alhurra in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen.
RT and Sputnik can reach even more people through partnerships with media platforms in Egypt. In 2015, Rossiya Segodnya and Al-Ahram Foundation signed a memorandum of cooperation that has led to the frequent republication of news from Russian state media — more than reports from other news wires. (Rossiya Segodnya is a Russian state-owned media group running Sputnik, and Al-Ahram Foundation is behind Egypt’s most widely read daily newspaper significantly owned by the government.) In 2018, Egypt’s Middle East News Agency (MENA) joined Al-Ahram in signing an agreement with Russian officials to ‘develop cooperation and expand media broadcasting across Egypt and Russia’.
All these channels retained full access to airwaves throughout the Ukrainian war, enabling the Russian government to propagate its narrative. Since Egypt is a major regional media player, its press is one of the region’s most influential and widely read. If its media outlets spread Russian propaganda, it will reach others in the Middle East, not just Egyptian audiences.
One of the narratives that has spread actively in the region through all these channels is that Russia is defending itself. This article will highlight some examples of this.
On 04 April 2024, RT published a post quoting president Vladimir Putin as saying the West put Russia in a position where it was ‘forced to defend’ its people, future, and sovereignty. This other RT Arabic post published on 16 December 2024 claims that Russia is facing aggressive Western countries who are trying to escalate the war and bet on the ground in Ukraine, but Russia is ready to defend itself.
An even more popular and often quoted narrative is that Ukraine is the aggressor that provoked the war because it oppressed Russians and suppressed the use of the Russian language in its territory. This RT Arabic post on 06 December 2024 quotes the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who says the Ukrainian government aims to kill Russians in Ukraine and that Ukrainian officials promote the mass killing of Russians in their public statements.
This 04 December 2024 post by Moscow News — which publishes Russian and international news in Arabic — shows Russian Orthodox Bishop Patriarch Kirill said, ‘For me, as the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, with Moscow and Kyiv being the capitals of our Orthodoxy, it is challenging to wake up in the morning thinking about the suffering of my people in Ukraine. Today, our battle is not against flesh and blood, as the Word of God says, but against the rulers of darkness in this age.’
The privately owned and influential Egyptian newspaper, Youm7, stated on 21 November 2024 that ‘Russia launched the Special Military Operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, to protect people who have been subjected to violations and genocide by the Kyiv regime.’ In another post published on 5 October 2022, the platform reported that the Russian representative at the Human Rights Council stated that the Ukrainian military was attacking Russian-speaking residents in Ukraine, as well as central Donetsk, and civilian infrastructure in Russian territories. Youm7 is one of Egypt’s most popular news websites, and young people read it.
Similar coverages were published in two other privately owned newspapers.
Al Masry Al Youm, with more than 7.5 million followers on X, reported that, according to Sergey Lavrov, the Ukrainian government has been killing civilians in Donbas since 2014 because ‘they did not accept the results of the coup in Ukraine.’ The article added that ‘the Kyiv regime has launched a full-scale attack on the Russian language, violating the rights of Russian-speaking populations,’ according to Lavrov. This long-lasting Russian narrative is not true and has been debunked in various sources, as in April 2019, Ukraine’s parliament passed a language law designating Ukrainian as the mandatory language for public sector workers. The law required citizens to know Ukrainian and obligated civil servants, soldiers, doctors, and teachers to use it in their professional communication. However, it did not ban Russian; instead, it established Ukrainian as the primary official language.
El Balad News, another Egyptian news website with over 10 million followers on Facebook, 1.4 million on Instagram, and 1.8 million on YouTube, reported that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces deliberately target civilians and kill Russian-speaking populations. This claim is false. Independent investigations, including those conducted by international organizations such as the UN OHCHR and Amnesty International, have not substantiated these accusations against the Ukrainian Armed Forces, emphasizing instead that Russian forces have repeatedly targeted civilian areas during the conflict.
Some posts suggest that Russia is willing to make peace, but Ukraine has refused to agree to a peaceful resolution and a cease-fire. A post by Youm7 published on 14 August 2024 quotes an official from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rodion Miroshnik, who claimed Ukraine’s drone attacks undermine any peace negotiations. A similar post from Sputnik Arabic, published on 26 November 2024, claims that Putin has repeatedly stated his readiness to start the peace process. Zelensky has rejected negotiations with Russia under current conditions, particularly after Russia’s claimed annexation of Ukrainian territories. While he initially showed openness to talks, he now insists on Russia respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty, withdrawing troops, and adhering to international law as prerequisites for any meaningful dialogue.
‘Russia launched the special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, to protect people who were subjected to violations and genocide by the Kyiv regime,’ Youm7 reported on 21 November 2024. The article quoted Putin as saying that the war was a forced measure and that Russia was left with ‘no opportunity to do otherwise, as security risks had reached a point where it was impossible to respond by other means.’ The article was shared on Youm7’s X account with over 13.3 million followers.
Shorouk News, a prominent Arabic newspaper published in Egypt and in several other Arab countries, joined the narrative despite being an independent, liberal-oriented newspaper with nearly 6 million followers on Facebook. It was reported in 2024 that the Ukrainian attempt to hit the Russian Kursk region was a massive provocation. It quoted Putin saying that Ukraine had ‘carried out yet another massive provocation by randomly firing various types of weapons, including rocket launchers, at residential buildings.’ This interpretation neglects the fact of the massive onslaught of the Russian forces in Ukraine that has led to the death of thousands of civilians.
The same narrative appeared on 31 December 2023 when Elwatan News, one of Egypt’s dailies with 20 million followers on Facebook, 4.8 million on X, 1.7 million on YouTube, and 1.3 million on Instagram, published an article with the headline: ‘Ukraine provokes Russia with heavy bombardment of Belgorod.’ According to the article, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Ukrainian forces had carried out a random attack on the Russian region of Belgorod in southwestern Russia near the border with Ukraine, using missiles and cluster bombs. The ministry stressed that the attack would not go unanswered. The headline was strategically framed to suggest that the Ukrainian attack was unprovoked.
Russia as the aggressor
While Russia portrays itself as a defender of sovereignty and Russian-speaking populations, its actions tell a different story. The annexation of Crimea in 2014, the military buildup along Ukraine’s borders in early 2022, and the subsequent full-scale invasion contradict the self-defence narrative. These actions intend to expand influence and assert dominance in the region. By framing its aggression as defensive, Russia justifies its actions domestically and seeks to garner support internationally, especially in areas like the MENA. This narrative aligns with its broader strategic goals of undermining Western influence and fostering alliances in important regions like Egypt.
The prevalence of Russian narratives in Egypt’s media ecosystem highlights the extent of Moscow’s influence and the susceptibility of specific information environments to manipulation. By amplifying its self-defence rhetoric and portraying Ukraine as the aggressor, Russia strengthens its geopolitical position while deflecting accountability for its actions.
This article was co-written by Justice Nwafor and Nurudeen Akewushola, freelance journalists, working with the Pravda Association, and Jakub Śliż. The article was edited by senior editors Eva Vajda and Aleksandra Wrona and iLAB managing editor Janet Heard.