Moscow hits out at 'Russophobia' in Pulitzer reports

Russia has slammed a Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles critical of its government, with the country's embassy in the US denouncing the "Russophobic fabrications".

The New York Times on Monday was awarded the highest prize in journalism for the six investigative articles and two videos that "exposed the predations of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin's regime" across Africa, the Middle East and Europe, the judges said. The articles and videos earned the news organization the Pulitzer for international reporting.

The Russian embassy in Washington, responding to the award on its Facebook account, described the articles as "an excellent collection of undiluted Russophobic fabrications that can be studied as a guide for creating false facts".

The reports delved into Russia's so-called interference in Libya, Syria and the Central African Republic, as well as the alleged poisoning of the Bulgarian arms dealer Emelyan Gebrev and two others in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 2015. Bulgarian prosecutors in February charged three Russians with counts of attempted murder.

According to The New York Times, the reports received the award from Pulitzer committee for international reporting in recognition of its investigations into "how President Putin of Russia has used shadow warfare to undermine the West and restore Russia as a global power" in the years following its "disinformation efforts in the 2016 US presidential election".

The International Reporting Award is one of three Pulitzer prizes won by The New York Times this year, bringing its total to 130 since Columbia University began presenting the annual journalism award in 1917.

"Three years ago the Pulitzer Prize was awarded to The New York Times for demonizing Russia," said the Russian embassy, adding that "such soon-rotting art obviously demands periodical prestigious awards".

In its criticism, the embassy said the Pulitzer board had "taken on great responsibility, highlighting in this way anti-Russian materials with statements that are repeatedly rejected not only by Russian officials, but already by life itself".

The diplomats behind the embassy's response said the articles will only damage the reputation of the newspaper.

Russian media weighed in to accuse The New York Times of copying sections of Russian news reports for the Pulitzer-winning reports, without crediting the sources.

Roman Badanin, editor of an independent investigative outlet in Russia, said at least two of the newspaper's reports had failed to cite the Russian outlet's reports for information used. "The prize-winners did not put a single link to the English version of our article," he said.