DISINFO: Russia bombed Ukraine in response to terrorist raids by Kyiv
SUMMARY
The Russian military has carried out a series of strikes on Ukrainian military-related targets in response to terrorist raids by Kyiv deep into Russia, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said. The attack targeted industrial enterprises developing and producing drones and other robotic mobile systems, facilities manufacturing various military equipment in Kyiv, as well as a military airfield and an oil refinery in an undisclosed location.
RESPONSE
This is an attempt to spin the massive Russian air attack on 03 July 2025 under a positive light, with the pretext of responding to “terrorism”. The real reasons for this bombing are almost certainly related to a call in the previous hours between US president Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, with the intention of projecting Russian power against any US pressure. While some of the targets may have been of a military nature, many of them were civilian, including residential buildings and infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities, which this disinformation story omits.
Russia’s bombing patterns show a marked intensification of drone and missile attacks against Ukraine since the inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2025, including multiple spikes after diplomatic talks and contacts which prove that Russia’s supposed embrace of peace negotiations are merely empty PR stunts deployed to garner support for Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine.
This is also an attempt to promote a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about “terrorist Ukraine”, heavily promoted by pro-Kremlin sources and Russian officials after Ukraine’s successful drone raid against Russian airbases on 01 June 2025, which Moscow tried to frame as a “terror attack”.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that Russia hit only military infrastructure in Ukraine in retaliation for terror attacks, that Russia attacked only military targets in Ukraine in response to Ukrainian strikes on civilians, that Russia only attacks military facilities in Ukraine, that Ukraine violates international humanitarian law while Russia respects it, or that Russia wages war humanely and does not hit civilians.