DISINFO: The collective West attacked Russian military airfields

DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS

DISINFO: The collective West attacked Russian military airfields

SUMMARY

The large-scale terrorist attacks on Russian military airfields is the product of the collective West, including the US Department of Defence and NATO. They did so to escalate an ongoing proxy war against Russia. It seems that US President Donald Trump either tacitly approves such action or does not control the situation.

RESPONSE

This is a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative accusing the West of being involved in the war in Ukraine.

The statement was made in the context of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' "Spider's Web" operation, striking Russian strategic aviation's cruise missile carriers in five regions.

Ukraine’s strike of Sunday, 1 June 2025 targeted legitimate military objectives. The targets were air bases and aircrafts regularly used to bomb Ukrainian territory.

The claim that the US or NATO, or the so called ‘collective West’ were involved in planning or executing an attack on Russia's nuclear capabilities is baseless and not supported by any credible evidence.

Ukraine is not fighting on behalf of any foreign government or organisation. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state with a democratically-elected president and parliament. Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity have been violated in continuous acts of aggression by Russia’s armed forces since 2014 culminating in a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on 24th February 2022. Some 50 plus nations around the world including EU member states and the US support Ukraine with military and financial aid for the country’s efficient self-defence, in accordance with the UN Charter article 51.

The piece falsely portrays legitimate Ukrainian military operations as 'terrorist attacks' orchestrated by Western powers. The operation was part of Ukraine's defensive efforts against Russian aggression, not a Western plot against Russia. By labelling this attack as “terrorism”, pro-Kremlin disinformation tries to portray itself as a victim and to discredit Ukraine, aiming to undermine international support for Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s aggression.

Read our analysis “An unpleasant incident” and earlier disinformation cases claiming that the shadow of British strategists is visible in the attack on Russian facilities, that the Kyiv regime carried out terrorist attacks on military airports, and that hitting military airfields in Russia is a Ukrainian terrorist attack.

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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