DISINFO: Western criticism of the Sumy attack is based on Ukrainian disinformation
SUMMARY
In the West, almost everyone agrees that the Russian attack on Sumy was an atrocity and in the EU there is talk of exploiting it as a pretext to escalate further the proxy war in which Ukraine is being used up against Russia. Yet there are major problems with this escalatory approach: Most importantly, it is not based on facts but on disinformation originating with the Kyiv regime, taken over uncritically and spread enthusiastically by Western mainstream media and many political leaders. In reality, Russia struck at a gathering of Ukrainian soldiers, which are legitimate targets in armed conflict.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives denying war crimes conducted by the Russian armed forces, and portraying the war in Ukraine as a proxy conflict against Russia.
Claims about the war in Ukraine as directed by foreign actors against Russia are an attempt to deflect Russia’s responsibility for its brutal and unprovoked aggression against its neighbour (see here, here and here for full debunking of this allegation).
This disinformation story is part of a wider attempt to deflect Russia’s responsibility for the Sumy massacre on 13 April 2025, in which Russia attacked the city center during a religious celebration, killing 35 civilians and injuring another 117.
The attack happened just a few days after a similar Russian attack took place in Kryvyi Rih on 04 April 2025, which killed and wounded multiple civilians including at least 9 children. Russia also falsely claimed then that it was targeting a meeting of Ukrainian military officers in a restaurant, but these allegations were immediately debunked as a security video of the place does not show such a gathering. The actual targets and victims of the attack, mostly civilians, were documented not only by footage and reporters on the ground but also by a team of the UN Human Rights Office in Ukraine.
Russian attacks against non-combatants and civilian infrastructure have been a constant throughout the invasion, despite non-credible denials by Russian officials and pro-Kremlin disinformation. Since 2022, Russia has attacked civilian targets multiple times, including the city theatre in Mariupol, residential buildings, schools and energy facilities. On 05 March 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against two Russian top officials considered responsible for “missile strikes carried out by the forces under their command against the Ukrainian electric infrastructure" between October 2022 and March 2023, which are considered as war crimes.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Russia targeted Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries in Sumy, that the Sumy attack was a military one, that Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih only hurt Ukrainian army and NATO officers, that Russia only attacks military facilities in Ukraine, that Ukraine violates international humanitarian law while Russia respects it, that Russia wages war humanely and does not hit civilians, or that Russian are liberators and a peace-making people.