Putin blames Western globalists for European events and Ukraine conflict
Russian president cited AfD's German election win as a result of "system errors" by the West.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

"I think that everything happening in Europe right now is basically the result of system errors by the so-called West ... the Western globalists in politics, security, and economics," Putin said.
Photograph: Times of India (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said events in Europe, such as the AfD's victory in Saxony-Anhalt, are the result of "system errors" by Western globalists.
- Putin also stated that the West's pressure and push for Ukraine's NATO membership caused the conflict in Ukraine.
- The Russian president made these comments during a pool report on the first day of his visit to India.
- Putin is scheduled to attend a BRICS summit in India with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 11 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
56/100
Craft
77/100
Hype
15/100
11 sources · methodology
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on 11 September 2026 that events in Europe, including the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's success in a state election, were caused by "system errors" made by Western globalists. Speaking to reporters in India, Putin also attributed the conflict in Ukraine to the West's actions, including pressure on Moscow and efforts to draw Ukraine into NATO. He suggested that people in Europe understand these dynamics, which he believes are reflected in recent election results and European trends. Putin is in India to attend a BRICS summit alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Disagreement on Putin's comments about the Ukraine conflict
The Times of India and The Economic Times reported that Putin said the West's actions, including pushing Ukraine toward NATO after a Russia-friendly president fled Ukraine in 2014, were the main reason for the "tragic events in Ukraine." Other reports did not include this specific detail about the 2014 events.
What the coverage left out
None of the centre or right-rated reports mentioned that the AfD must now attract defectors from other parties or reach an agreement with the small far-left BSW party to form a government in Saxony-Anhalt.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 12 Sept 2026, 04:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
6 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports led with Putin's statement that events in Europe, including the AfD's win in Germany, were caused by Western globalists. These reports carried Putin's assertion that the West's pressure and push for Ukraine's NATO membership were the cause of the Ukraine conflict. The reports noted Putin's comments were made during a pool report on the first day of his visit to India, where he is attending a BRICS summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Right
5 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports highlighted Putin's claim that events in Europe, such as the AfD's victory in Germany, resulted from "systemic mistakes" or "system errors" by Western globalists in politics, security, and economics. Several of these reports included Putin's specific assertion that the West's actions, including the eastward expansion of NATO and efforts to draw Ukraine into the alliance after 2014, were the primary cause of the conflict in Ukraine. The reports also mentioned Putin's attendance at the BRICS summit in India.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Putin blames Western globalists for European events and Ukraine conflict?
- Of the 11 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 54% are rated centre, 46% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Putin blames Western globalists for European events and Ukraine conflict left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 11 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Putin blames Western globalists for European events and Ukraine conflict biased?
- Putin blames Western globalists for European events and Ukraine conflict is one event reported by 11 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Putin blames Western globalists for European events and Ukraine conflict?
- 11 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What did Vladimir Putin say about events in Europe?
- Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that events in Europe, including the AfD's win in a German state election, were the result of "system errors" committed by Western globalists. He suggested that people in Europe understand these dynamics and that these results reflect broader European trends.
- How did Putin explain the conflict in Ukraine?
- Putin attributed the conflict in Ukraine to the West's actions, including constant pressure on Moscow and efforts to "drag" Ukraine into the NATO alliance. He specifically mentioned that after a Russia-friendly president fled Ukraine in 2014, the West aimed to bring Ukraine into NATO, which he called the main reason for the current events.
- Where and when did Putin make these comments?
- Putin made these comments to reporters in a pool report on the first day of his visit to India, on Friday, 11 September 2026. He was in India to attend a BRICS summit.
Read it at the source
11 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
6- Putin says events in Europe, like AfD’s win in Germany, caused by Western globalists (opens The Mighty 790 KFGO in a new tab)
The Mighty 790 KFGO — is The Mighty 790 KFGO biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Vladimir Putin says events in Europe, like AfD's win in Germany, caused by Western globalists (opens The Economic Times in a new tab)
The Economic Times — is The Economic Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Putin says events in Europe, like AfD's win in Germany, caused by Western globalists (opens Reuters in a new tab)
- Putin says events in Europe, like AfD's win in Germany, caused by Western globalists (opens Market Screener in a new tab)
Market Screener — is Market Screener biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Putin: events in Europe, like German election, caused by globalists in the West (opens WTVB in a new tab)
- Germany’s AfD Win Is Great News for Putin (opens Bloomberg in a new tab)
Bloomberg — is Bloomberg biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
Right
5- Everything happening in Europe is result of systemic mistakes by the West: Putin on rise of Alternative for Germany - The Tribune (opens Tribune India in a new tab)
Tribune India — is Tribune India biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Ukraine War: Putin Leads AfD Success Back to West's Mistakes (opens Handelsblatt in a new tab)
Handelsblatt — is Handelsblatt biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Vladimir Putin says events in Europe, like AfD's win in Germany, caused by Western globalists (opens Times of India in a new tab)
Times of India — is Times of India biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Putin blames Western globalists for European events (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The events in Europe were the result of systemic mistakes by Western globalists in the fields of politics, security and economics, Putin said (opens news-pravda.com in a new tab)
news-pravda.com — is news-pravda.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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