John Oliver Exposes Putin's Propaganda Campaign: You're Lying 'To a Child's Face'

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver renewed his criticism of Vladimir Putin last night in a scathing monologue that exposed the Russian dictator's propaganda campaign and human rights violations.

"It has been a truly grim week, and yet Ukrainian citizens have continued to show incredible signs of resistance," Oliver said at the top of Sunday's episode. "Proving that they truly are the 'fuck around and find out' country of Eastern Europe."

Russian forces have attempted to counteract Ukrainian bravery — as evidenced by a clip of a grandmother who told CNN, "Let those Russian shits come here," while loading up crates of Molotov cocktails — by arresting protestors, banning Facebook and Twitter, and releasing propaganda videos. In one such video, Oliver explained, a young girl asks questions about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and gets "some spectacular answers" about Russians fighting for "peace" and a promise not to attack residential buildings, harm civilians, or destroy social infrastructure.

"Except you've literally just done almost all of those things!" replied Oliver. "Russian strikes have destroyed hospitals, schools, and homes. Also, I really don't want to be giving notes to state propaganda, but if you're going to lie to a child's face, maybe cast a less creepy man to do that."

"Yet for all the Ukrainian resistance and Russian discontent, the fact is, Russia is continuing to advance and committing human rights abuses along the way," he concluded. "Sadly, we have no idea what's going to happen next, or just how bad things could get."

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver airs Sundays at 11:00 PM ET on HBO.

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.