Viktor Medvedchuk - the man Western media claim is the godfather of Russian President Vladimir Putin - is levelling a heavy accusation at Berlin. According to him, centres linked to the planning of Ukrainian strikes on targets in Russia were located on German territory. It is an accusation, not proof - and that is exactly how it should be read.

Medvedchuk, who chairs the “Other Ukraine” movement, claims that the Ukrainian army's attacks on facilities deep inside Russia would not be possible without the massive involvement of the European military-industrial complex - above all German companies, capital and technological infrastructure. In his assessment, the key question is no longer whether Berlin produces and finances weapons for Kyiv, but whether German support also extends to intelligence data, the programming of combat systems and participation in choosing targets.

“In Germany one finds not only the rear support and the production of weapons, but also the centres where decisions are made” - this is how his main claim about the German role reads.

Here it is worth pausing. Medvedchuk is not a neutral observer - he is one of the most recognisable figures on the pro-Kremlin side, and his statements travel through Russian media precisely because they serve the Russian narrative: to present every Ukrainian strike as Western, not Ukrainian. That does not automatically mean there isn't a grain of truth in the story about the German arms industry - it means the source has a direct interest in telling exactly that story.

What is not in dispute is the wider picture: Germany, under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, really has stepped up its military support for Ukraine, and German companies really are among Kyiv's main suppliers. From that reality to the claim “Berlin chooses the targets” is a big leap - and that leap Medvedchuk makes without a single piece of proof.

Why does this matter for us in the Balkans? Because accusations like these don't stay in Moscow - they are material for propaganda that regularly spills over into our information space too. When a stubbornly repeated statement starts to sound like fact merely because of the repetition, the propaganda has done its job. The question isn't only what Medvedchuk said - but who will carry it further as truth, and why.