DISINFO: The West, Ukraine involved in terrorist attack on concert hall near Moscow
SUMMARY
Ukraine and the West were involved in a terrorist attack on a concert hall near Moscow on 22 March 2024. Ukraine had trained the militants in the Middle East. Ukraine and the West want to destabilise the situation in Russia and sow panic, now that they have not achieved success on the frontline.
RESPONSE
This case may contain graphic/ distressing material.
Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative accusing Ukraine of being a terrorist state. This claim was made in the context of the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall outside Moscow on 22 March 2024.
The Islamic State have claimed responsibility for and shared video footage from the attacks, corroborating their claims of responsibility.
Kyiv strongly denied any involvement in the assault on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk.
In a recent development, news have appeared that Iran had warned Moscow a few days before of an imminent attack by ISIS based on information obtained from arrested ISIS terrorists in Iran.
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.
For background, read our analysis: The “Russophobia” Myth: Appealing to the Lowest Feelings.
Even Putin himself acknowledged late on 25 March that Islamists were committing the attack.
Read similar disinformation cases claiming that Moscow has evidence of the connection between the Crocus City terrorists and Ukraine, that Kyiv is behind the attack at the Crocus in Moscow, and that Ukraine, not ISIS masterminded the Crocus attack.