Even though the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for last week's deadly Moscow concert hall attack, Russia's President Vladimir Putin, pro-Russian social media users and bots are continuing to insist that Ukraine was involved in the atrocity. We debunk all the false claims for you in this edition of Truth or Fake.
The disinformation is based on an interview with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell to CNN, published on March 25, 2024. Josep Borrell discussed the policy of support for Ukraine from the EU and the United States. In the context of his visit to the United States in March 2024, Borrell warned that the coming months would be decisive for Russia's war against Ukraine and called on allies to urgently help Kyiv. Borrell emphasised that support for Ukraine is extremely important for allies, not just as a "show of love for the people of Ukraine," but as a contribution to the defence capability of Ukraine and NATO countries. Josep Borrell once again noted that the consequences of Russia's theoretical victory in Ukraine will be catastrophic for the EU and Russia will not stop.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that such Russian reports were 'another false narrative of the Kremlin.' The spokesperson added: 'The United States does not take sides in elections; our only interest is in the democratic process.' "The elections are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him," the White House's national security council spokesperson said.
The claim is patently false, as this disinformation story was itself illustrated with a screen capture taken from Amaq, the official Islamic State propaganda media. As terrorism experts pointed out, this leaves no question regarding the authenticity of the statement. No longer after this disinformation story appeared, the Islamic State released multiple evidence, including a gruesome video of the Moscow attack filmed by the attackers themselves, leaving little doubt about its responsibility.
US officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group's Afghan affiliate IS-Khorasan is responsible for the Moscow attack. "ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
U.S officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group's Afghan affiliate, IS-Khorasan, is responsible for the Moscow attack. "ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.
There were incidents where suspects were tortured and mutilated by Russian security forces, who captured this mistreatment in videos and pictures, following their arrest. The coverage of the attack in the Spanish media has unequivocally condemned this terrorist act against civilians.
Despite Russia's war against Ukraine, the country will not cancel social spending. Payments of pensions and social benefits are a priority for Ukraine. The Government of Ukraine has repeatedly emphasized that payments of pensions, salaries, as well as financing of education, medicine and the military sector are protected expenditure items of the Ukrainian budget, which are carried out on time and in full.
At the same time, Ukraine, together with the International Monetary Fund, plans to continue the reform of the country's pension system. This is stated in the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policy with the IMF dated March 22, 2024 (page 95).
Ukraine's international allies have repeatedly stressed that Ukraine has the right to carry out any military operations aimed at de-occupying its territories
US officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group's Afghan affiliate IS-Khorasan is responsible for the Moscow attack. "ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.