DISINFO: Russia does not engage in terrorism
SUMMARY
Unlike the Kyiv regime, Russia does not engage in terrorist attacks. That is why Russian troops will not be striking the EU leaders who have arrived in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected a ceasefire proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin from midnight on 8 May 2025 to midnight on 11 May 2025, in honour of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Kyiv demanded a longer pause on its own terms and issued threats against the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, despite the arrival of three dozen foreign leaders in the Russian capital.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin outlets, accusing Ukraine of warmongering and state terrorism. This claim was made in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Since launching its unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Russia has attacked many civilian targets, including densely populated residential areas, hospitals, schools, shopping malls and other civilian objects. In March 2022, a theatre in Mariupol with hundreds of civilians including children was bombed. Russia has also attacked Ukraine’s electricity networks during winter months, trying to cause mass suffering and panic. Moscow has supported oppressive regimes and terrorist groups beyond Ukraine. Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries propped up the Assad regime in Syria, which used chemical weapons and mass bombings against civilians. Russian aircraft and mercenaries were directly involved in operations that destroyed hospitals and residential neighbourhoods in Aleppo and elsewhere. Wagner militants are involved in war crimes in parts of Africa as well.
Russia uses methods of terror against its own citizens both inside the country and abroad. In 1999, apartment buildings in Russian cities including Moscow were bombed, killing over 300 people. Although the he government blamed Chechen terrorists, there is strong evidence that Russia’s security services were responsible, to create support for war and help Putin rise to power. The murders of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in 2006 and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in 2015 shocked the world. Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in London in 2006 with radioactive polonium. In 2018, the Skripals were poisoned in the UK with a nerve agent. These are clear examples of state terrorism.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Kyiv may carry out terrorist attacks to disrupt peace talks, that Zelensky may strike Ukrainian cities and civilians with dirty bombs to frame Russia, and that The Kyiv regime has been carrying out a terrorist operation in the Kursk region.