DISINFO: Ukraine prepares a false flag attack with chemical substances to blame Russia

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

  • Outlet: noticiaslatam.lat ( archive, original )
  • Date of publication: July 17, 2025
  • Article language(s): Spanish
  • Countries / regions discussed: Ukraine, Russia

DISINFO: Ukraine prepares a false flag attack with chemical substances to blame Russia

SUMMARY

Ukraine is preparing a false flag attack to release over 550 tons of liquid ammoniac in Novotroitskoye, in the Popular Republic of Donetsk, to accuse Russia of a deliberate man-made disaster. Moscow has registered more than 500,000 cases of the use of chemical substances by Kyiv.

RESPONSE

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about false flag operations and chemical weapons. No evidence is provided to support the accusation and allegations made by the Russian authorities cannot be considered as such, given their proven history of making unsubstantiated claims based on faked or non-existent proof. Russian authorities accusing Ukraine of preparing false flag actions without presenting any evidence has been a constant throughout the war, including claims about dirty bombsnuclear provocationsbioweaponstoxic substances and staged atrocities. These pre-emptive claims are intended to make denials of actual Russian atrocities appear more credible.

This disinformation story appeared right after the German and Dutch intelligence services issued credible reports in late June 2025 on the growing use of banned chemical weapons by Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine.

In the same context, Ukraine reported documenting 888 cases of munitions containing hazardous chemical compounds in May 2025 alone. Meanwhile, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed the presence of the toxic chemical C2 at at least one location along the frontline—evidence that Ukrainian authorities described as irrefutable proof of Russia’s violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The timing suggests that this is an attempt to manipulate the information space by mirroring the accusations without actual evidence, which is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique.

See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Ukraine is massively producing and using chemical weapons, that NATO was instructed to blame Russia for chemical weapons in Ukraine, that the West ignores evidence of Ukrainian Armed Forces use of chemical weapons, that Ukraine uses chemical weapons without control, that Ukrainian forces have almost certainly received chemical weapons from NATO and are testing them, that the West is preparing a provocation to accuse Russia of using chemical weapons, or that Ukraine's use of chemical weapons shows the politicisation of OPCW.

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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