U.S. officials are pushing back hard against Russian claims that American anti-aircraft missiles meant for Ukraine have begun showing up on the illicit arms market in Syria.
Intelligence and diplomatic sources say the claims are a textbook case of Kremlin disinformation aimed at undercutting U.S. and allied support for arming Ukrainian forces while diverting criticism of Russia’s invasion.
In another page from the recent Russian playbook, Chinese state media have quickly piggybacked on the Kremlin claims in recent days, amplifying conspiracy theories about the backing that the U.S. and its allies have provided for Ukraine in response to the Russian military assault.
Washington and NATO nations have rushed billions of dollars worth of weapons into Ukraine, including thousands of highly sensitive items such as shoulder-fired missiles called Man-Portable Air-Defense Systems (MANPADS). The supplies have brought angry complaints from Russian President Vladimir Putin and foreign weapon depots have been the target of a number of Russian missile strikes.
Pentagon officials acknowledge that some of the vast flow of arms could fall into the wrong hands in the chaos of war, but insist it was worth the risk because the weaponry so dramatically elevated the Ukrainian military’s ability to beat back invading Russian forces.
While dubious claims of weaponry diverted to black-market channels have appeared for months on social media, the claims reached new heights last week when a top...
Duterte supporters and a slew of Facebook accounts spread disinformation from Congressman Kiko Barzaga after the Senate shooting incident on Wednesday, May 13 MANILA, Philippines – Not long after ...