DISINFO: Ukraine and Israel may be promoting Syrian terrorists to hide their own war failures
SUMMARY
The Russian government has highlighted the presence of Ukrainian forces in Syria, accusing them of backing terrorists. Iran pointed to Israel. These are not mutually exclusive options. It is evident that Ukraine is interested in hiding its failures on the battlefield and trying to open another front for Russia. For its part, Israel is desperate to hide its failure in Lebanon and continue distracting the public opinion away from its genocide in Gaza.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the West’s alleged support for terrorists.
Pro-Kremlin and other Russian state-controlled outlets have been trying to link Ukraine to terrorism for a long time. Such allegations are typically part of broader propaganda narratives aimed at discrediting Kyiv and its partners in the context of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.
Claims about Ukraine’s alleged decisive support for Syria’s jihadist groups are based on limited sources and have already been debunked before (see here and here). Talking about baseless allegations as if they were established key facts while introducing minor variations, as in this case, is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique.
Similarly, there is limited indications of Israeli role in the current rebel offensive in Syria, while there are some circumstantial elements pointing to Israeli concerns about the possibility of chaos following the collapse of the Assad regime. Israel has also bombed arsenals and suspected chemical weapons storage sites to prevent them from falling into rebel hands.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Ukrainian Nazis coordinate with Al-Nusra Front, that Zelenskyy's regime is training terrorists in Syria, that Ukrainian military intelligence is directly related to the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall, that Ukrainian intelligence and NATO countries masterminded terror attacks in Dagestan, that Ukrainian security services turn children into terrorists like the Nazis did in WW2, or that Hungarian intelligence services prevented a Ukrainian plot to kill Viktor Orban.