DISINFO: Traces in the Crocus City Hall attack point to US-controlled Kyiv

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

  • Outlet: latamnews.lat ( archive, original )
  • Date of publication: April 09, 2024
  • Article language(s): Spanish
  • Countries / regions discussed: Russia, Ukraine, US, EU, Europe

DISINFO: Traces in the Crocus City Hall attack point to US-controlled Kyiv

SUMMARY

The traces of the terrorist attack carried out on 22 March at the Crocus City Hall concert hall, on the outskirts of Moscow, lead to the special services of the Kyiv regime, which, in turn, are controlled by Washington.

There are clues that indicate that [the terrorist attack in Crocus] was a Ukrainian plot, if not of the CIA or the British secret services. Weeks before the attack, the US, UK and German embassies were already warning their citizens not to travel to Moscow because there was a risk of an attack. That is, they knew something and did not specifically inform their Russian colleagues. In addition, when the terrorists committed the horrendous crime in Moscow, they were captured fleeing not towards Dagestan or Turkey, but towards Ukraine.

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives blaming Ukraine and the West for the Crocus City Hall terror attack in Moscow and denying Ukraine’s sovereignty.

This baseless disinformation story is part of a wider campaign by Russian officials and media -including by Vladimir Putin himself- to blame Ukraine and other actors for the Crocus City Hall terror attack in Moscow, even after the Islamic State credibly claimed responsibility for it.

As ISIS authorship became undeniable (see here for a wider account of evidences), Putin acknowledged late on 25 March 2024 that Islamists had committed the attack. Nonetheless, Russian authorities and pro-Kremlin outlets continue insisting on some degree of Ukrainian and/or Western involvement. And since there is no credible evidence in this regard, pro-Kremlin disinformation shifted to its long-term narrative about the Islamic State as a US/Western creation, of which this disinformation story is a good example. This narrative has been debunked multiple times (see here, here, here and here).

The attempt to portray the US and other countries warnings about an imminent terror attack as something suspicious does not stand scrutiny. The US conveyed a very specific warning to Russia -even pointing to the Crocus City Hall as a likely target- under a US intelligence directive called “duty to warn”, aiming to prevent terror attacks even against countries considered as hostile (see here for more information). Besides, Russia’s ally Iran also had warned Moscow of an imminent ISIS attack based on information obtained from arrested ISIS terrorists in Iran after the Kerman terror attack in January 2024. Nonetheless, the Kremlin not only ignored US alerts but Vladimir Putin denounced them as "provocative", "blackmail" and an "attempt to intimidate, destabilise our country".

Allegations about Ukraine as a US/Western puppet have also been debunked many times (see here, here, here and here).

See other examples of similar disinformation messages about the Crocus City Hall terror attack, such as claims that Moscow has evidence of the connection between the Crocus City terrorists and Ukraine, that ISIS claiming responsibility for Moscow attack looks like a fake, that Ukraine’s top official confirmed its participation in the Moscow Crocus City terror attack, that the West is afraid of evidence proving Kyiv's involvement in the Moscow terrorist attack, or that the US and Israel created ISIS and now moved this pawn against Russia in Crocus City attack.

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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