Pro-Russian posters appear in Aachen with slogans such as 'Peace in Europe is only possible with Russia – not against Russia'

In October 2025, a series of large advertising billboards appeared at several locations in Aachen, including the Bushof bus station, Stolberger Strasse and Elsassstrasse, carrying the slogan "Peace in Europe is only possible with Russia, not against Russia." According to t-online, the posters were displayed across the city for roughly ten days in mid-October. The campaign was placed through the commercial advertising firm Stroer.

The initiative behind the campaign identified itself as "Aachener fuer eine menschliche Zukunft" (Aachen for a Humane Future), associated with the website ac-frieden.de, a group that has staged so-called peace actions since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Who financed the billboards has not been publicly disclosed, and the cost and funding source remain unconfirmed.

The association "Ukrainer in Aachen" reacted with anger, publishing an open letter dated 13 October 2025 addressed to the city of Aachen, the public and Stroer. The group described the campaign as a "systematic attempt to undermine trust in Western democracies" that "spreads narrative elements of Russian state propaganda," and it demanded that Stroer disclose the campaign's funding, review it against advertising standards and distance itself from the messaging. As reported by t-online, Stroer responded that it cannot reject advertising that breaks no law, citing the free-speech guarantee of Article 5 of Germany's Basic Law.

The observable fact is a paid, pro-Russian messaging campaign on public billboards, attributed to a named local peace initiative rather than to any covert actor. The slogan mirrors Kremlin framing that casts Russia as a partner for European peace. There is no reported evidence of Russian state direction or financing, and the funding behind the placement is unconfirmed, a point the Ukrainian association itself flagged. The case fits a broader pattern of pro-Russian poster and sticker actions in Western cities, whether organic, opportunistic or coordinated, and is best read as influence messaging of unproven origin.