EUvsDisinfo: Missiles and Lies. Again.
Amid the barrage of Russian missiles raining down on Ukrainian cities, the Kremlin’s propaganda machine is spewing cynical insinuations in an attempt to downplay the civilian casualties in Ukraine. At the same time, we are witnessing a familiar pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign targeting Poland’s upcoming presidential election in May. These coordinated campaigns reveal the true nature of the Kremlin's strategy.
Deliberate, not by mistake
The Russian ballistic missile strike on the center of Sumy on April 13 during Palm Sunday celebrations, killing at least 35 civilians – including two children – and 117 people were injured, it was not an isolated incident or mistake, but part of a deliberate pattern.
The horror stories from Sumy reached an international audience, and Moscow's propagandists immediately began spreading various lies: that Russia's target was a meeting of Ukrainian military commanders, a medal ceremony, or a meeting between Ukrainian and Western powers. These untruths follow the same pattern used in the attack on the restaurant in Kryvyi Rih on April 5 - an incident in which 20 people were killed, including nine children, and over 70 were injured.
Disinformation in support of a terrorist campaign
These cynical, fabricated justifications for the killing of innocent civilians for alleged military purposes follow the same approach: attack civilian infrastructure, deny responsibility, and then fabricate a lie that there were supposedly military purposes for the attack.
However, the evidence paints a different picture. Investigators from the UN Human Rights Office, international media and