The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) is appalled that Netflix has renewed its deal to broadcast Masha and the Bear and has extended its distribution in more than 100 countries.
This is not a harmless children’s show. It is a tool of russian propaganda and soft power, yet Netflix has chosen to continue to profit from its broadcast and expose children to dangerous and harmful content that normalises Soviet symbols, militarism, and Kremlin narratives.
The cartoon casts russia as a large, soft, good-natured bear. Masha is shown in Red Army headwear and the cap of Stalin’s NKVD secret police; in one episode she “defends” the bear’s borders. The program’s official channel promotes russian militarised state holidays.
In 2026 — when russia is in its 5th year of waging a full-scale war of aggression against its neighbour and committing daily war crimes against Ukrainian civilians — this is obscene.
This program also generates revenue for the russian state — which helps to fund the russian war machine and the very missiles and drones killing Ukrainian children.
The Ukrainian World Congress – Свiтовий Конґрес Українців has backed the cancellation campaign worldwide. In Australia, the AFUO has written to the federal government and the Federal Parliamentary Friends of Ukraine calling for serious scrutiny of foreign soft-power content aimed at Australian children.
We encourage you to:
Lodge a protest with Netflix Australia – 
Call: 1800 404 982 Cancel your Netflix subscription and tell them why Share this post with the hashtags #CancelNetflix and #StoprussianSoftPower.
Australian kids’ streaming dollars shouldn’t expose them to harmful russian content and help fund russia’s war.
#CancelNetflix #StoprussianSoftPower #AFUO #NetflixAustralia #StandWithUkraine
