Fake Disinformation that Russia hit the location of NATO “mercenaries”
A propaganda source is spreading information that on October 15, 2024, Russia launched a targeted strike on the alleged location of NATO “mercenaries” in Mykolaiv.
However, this is not true. In fact, as a result of the Russian missile strike on that day, civilians were injured and civilian objects were also damaged. This is reported by the VoxCheck project.
On October 15, Russian troops shelled Mykolaiv with S-300 missiles. As a result of the attack, civilian objects were damaged - private residential buildings, an infrastructure facility, a restaurant complex, etc. This was reported by the State Emergency Service and the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Vitalii Kim. A woman died and 16 people were injured as a result of the shelling.
The propaganda message contains photos of a fire published by the State Emergency Service. They show the aftermath of a missile strike, but none of them prove that the Russians hit the location of “NATO mercenaries”. In general, the publication does not provide any real arguments and contains typical phrases about so-called “mercenaries” in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This is a recurring Russian narrative, with which it is trying to discredit Ukraine.
The disinformation about alleged “NATO mercenaries” at the impact site was published by Dmytro Vasylets, a pro-Russian blogger and propagandist. In 2015, he was arrested while assisting the separatist TV channel Novorossiya TV, but was fired in 2018. Before the full-scale war, the blogger moved to Russia, where he continued his propaganda activities against Ukraine. In early 2024, the SBU informed Vasylets of suspicion for public calls for a violent change of power or the overthrow of the constitutional order.
Finally, another propaganda source reports that the arrival was recorded by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. That is, this version contradicts the version about the arrival of “mercenaries” at the location of deployment. Accordingly, in this way the Russians are trying to justify the shelling of civilian objects, claiming that military personnel, equipment or ammunition depots are located there.