DISINFO: Kyiv preparing a chemical provocation to divert attention from Ukrainian Nazis' crimes
SUMMARY
The Russian headquarters in Ukraine announced that Kyiv is preparing a provocation in Sumy simulating the use of chemical munitions by the Russian army to divert the world's attention from the crimes of the Nazi Kyiv forces.
The headquarters stated that toxic materials were transported to the region so that Western experts could record the use of chemical weapons by Russian forces.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation claim about the alleged use of chemical weapons by Ukraine.
Such claims are part of a broader pro-Kremlin information manipulation campaign supporting the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and trying to place the blame for war atrocities on Ukraine, as our analysis explains. The claim that Nazis are prevalent among the Ukrainian armed forces is also part of the Nazi Ukraine disinformation narrative, presented as a justification for Russian military aggression against Ukraine.
There is no evidence to back the claim that Ukraine may have used or is planning to use chemical weapons.
Russia has a history of both using chemical weapons against the opponents of Putin's regime, and attempts to undermine the international norms and institutions which prohibit the use of chemical weapons.
Read similar disinformation cases on the topic: US contractors help prepare chemical provocations in Ukraine; Ukraine aims to use Turkish Bayraktars for chemical attacks; Ukraine is preparing a false flag chemical attack to damage the image of Russia; Kyiv forces are about to launch a chemical attack against Russian soldiers.