ru-propaganda manipulates facts about russia’s July 11 strike on Kyiv
russian propaganda has once again resorted to manipulation in an attempt to absolve russia of responsibility for the consequences of its missile strike on Kyiv on the night of July 11.
▫️ Pro-russian resources simultaneously circulated claims that statements by the Ukrainian authorities about the use of a ballistic missile with fragmentation effects were allegedly disinformation. Propagandists assert that Iskander-M missiles are equipped only with high-explosive warheads and that the small fragments found at the impact site were supposedly caused by Ukrainian air defense.
▫️ Claims that russian ballistic missiles do not contain fragmentation elements are false. Iskander-M missiles can be equipped with cluster warheads containing dozens of submunitions that disperse thousands of metal fragments (such as balls or cubes) upon detonation, maximizing casualties over a wide area.
▫️ The enemy also claims that Ukrainian media used illustrative photos in their reporting, presenting this as “proof” that the incident was staged. In reality, the use of illustrative images is a standard journalistic practice for timely reporting and in no way disproves the fact of russia’s attack.
Since it is impossible to deny that russia launched ballistic missiles at densely populated areas of the capital, injuring civilians, enemy propaganda is attempting to shift the focus. By distorting the technical characteristics of the weapons, fixating on the colloquial use of the term “shrapnel,” or criticizing the presentation style of Ukrainian media reports, russia is trying to evade responsibility for yet another deliberate war crime against Ukrainian civilians.
