Defense Ministry refutes Kremlin’s fakes about US military, chemical weapons in Donetsk region

Defense Ministry refutes Kremlin’s fakes about US military, chemical weapons in Donetsk region

Ukrinform
The statement spread by the Russian military leadership about the allegedly “reliably established presence of more than 120 employees of American private military companies in Avdiyivka and Pryazovske in Donetsk region” is deliberate disinformation.

The corresponding statement was made by the Center for Operational Information of the Ministry of Defense.

“There are no private military companies, including foreign ones, in Ukraine. Apart from those used by the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. The other allegation of ‘delivery of reserves of an unidentified chemical component for provocations in the towns of Avdiivka and Lyman’ is also untrue,” the Defense Ministry states, adding that the only threat to peace and security of Ukrainian citizens and territories comes from Russian-occupation forces who violate the ceasefire, kill Ukrainian citizens and block the work of the international mission.

It is emphasized that the war against Ukraine includes not only armed aggression but also a hybrid component – information operations. The press service notes that the Russian Federation had previously resorted to such disinformation, spreading in 2018 fakes about the so-called “blue barrels with allegedly poisonous substance in Krasnohorivka.”

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense points out that the current fake was voiced by Russia’s top leadership so it should be treated as a possible future provocation.

“Since the latest disinformation has been voiced at the highest military and political level, it should be taken seriously, [it should be regarded] as the preparation of a specific provocation, the scenario of which has already been developed in the Kremlin,” reads the statement.

The Ministry of Defense also stresses that the Armed Forces of Ukraine respect international humanitarian law, adhere to the Minsk Agreements, and hold their borders.

As reported, Russian defense minister Sergey Shoigu said at a meeting of the board of the Russian Defense Ministry with the participation of Putin that Ukraine and the United States were allegedly preparing a provocation in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions with the use of chemical weapons.

ol

While citing and using any materials on the Internet, links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory. In addition, citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet. Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No. 270/96-VR of July 3, 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No. 2849-Х of March 31, 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice.

© 2015-2024 Ukrinform. All rights reserved.

Extended searchHide extended search
By period:
-