DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
- Outlet: arabic.sputniknews.com ( archive, original ) , Katehon - English ( archive, original ) , sahafah24 ( archive, original ) , africa-press.com ( archive, original ) , nilenetonline.com ( archive, original ) , albidda.net ( original ) , 6060news.com ( archive, original ) , 3-arabi.com ( archive, original )
- Date of publication: March 23, 2020
- Countries / regions discussed: Libya, Russia
DISINFO: Russia was never involved in Libya
SUMMARY
Russia has never been involved in the internal Libyan conflict.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative that Russian ground troops are not active in Libya or Syria, while there is a wide spectrum of sources disproving these claims.
A private army linked to the Kremlin has been fighting on the front lines of the Libyan war for several months. The Russian firm Wagner Group is a mercenary outfit involved in armed conflicts on the Kremlin’s behalf from Ukraine to Syria to the Central African Republic. The Wagner group members are mostly ex-service personnel, fought clandestinely in support of Russian forces in Syria and Ukraine, according to Reuters' interviews with dozens of contractors, their friends and relatives.
To learn more about disinformation around the Wagner group, check out our report on Russian attempts to hide the evidence.