Russian propagandists are spreading information on social networks that on December 4, 2023, the former head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, allegedly called on Ukraine to commit terror against Russian citizens. This was allegedly confirmed by the American publication The Washington Post. However, this is manipulation.

Specialists from the VoxCheck project drew attention to it. They found out that, in fact, according to The Washington Post, Mark Milley did not call on Ukraine to carry out terrorist attacks on Russian territory. In fact, he advised Ukrainian fighters to actively act against Russian soldiers in the temporarily occupied territories. It is also important to note that the United States does not support Ukrainian forces in launching attacks beyond its own borders.

The original publication in The Washington Post, published on December 4, 2023 under the title Miscalculations, divisions marked offensive planning by US, Ukraine, indeed contains a similar quote from Mark Milley. The material describes events in early 2023, shortly before the Ukrainian summer counter-follow-up operation. At that time, Milley was already Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, but left this post at the end of September 2023. According to The Washington Post, Mark Milley expressed these allegations during a conversation with Ukrainian Special Operations Forces soldiers in Wiesbaden, Germany. According to the publication, he used these words to inspire them to take action. His speech took place in the context of rear operations in territories temporarily under enemy control.

The article quoted Milley as follows: “There should be no Russian who goes to sleep without wondering if they’re going to get their throat slit in the middle of the night,” Milley said, according to an official with knowledge of the event. “You gotta get back there, and create a campaign behind the lines”.

The article was about the military situation in the Russian-Ukrainian war, so when Milley spoke about “Russians”, he meant the Russian military, not civilians. It should also be noted that State Department spokesman Matthew Miller later confirmed that the US position remains unchanged: it does not encourage Ukrainian forces to conduct strikes outside their own borders.

Propagandists spread such manipulations to strengthen their message that Ukraine is allegedly behind the terrorist attack in Crocus City Holly. Detector Media explained how else Russian propaganda is trying to spread this message.