Likely false
Tuesday 26 January 2021
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"In a letter to me, he [Khodorkovsky] pleaded [guilty] and asked to release him before his prison term ended because his mom was ill and died, and I did that, I pardoned him."
Ex-oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky never admitted guilt before his fraud conviction and claims he did not admit guilt in his pardon request to Putin. -
Iran's Foreign Ministry “rejected the false news of the presence of al-Qaida members in Iran and refused certain media reports claiming that one official of the terrorist group was assassinated in Iran.”
Sources since mid-October have reported the likely assassination of al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader, Abu Muhammad al-Masri, in Tehran, where he was living under an alias. -
“Turkey struck over 50 targets in retaliation and killed 76 Syrian soldiers.”
Turkey’s attack was reported, but the casualty numbers may be excessive. An earlier claim by Turkey’s president put the deaths at nearly half the number later claimed by the defense minister. Monitors who track regime losses haven’t yet seen evidence for so many casualties. -
“It has been reported that Mike de Andrea [sic] responsible for the assassination of the martyr Major General Qassem Soleimani was killed in the accident of the American plane that was shot down in Afghanistan. He is the most prominent figure of the CIA intelligence in the region.”
The Pentagon retrieved the remains of the two officers killed in the Jan. 27 crash. Neither was CIA Iran chief Michael D’Andrea. Afghanistan, NATO and the U.S. all said the plane was not shot down. -
"Therefore, on January 9, 2020, the U.S. Navy destroyer, which was on the left from the traffic lane of the Russian Navy ship sailing ahead, grossly violated the international regulations for preventing collisions at sea by maneuvering to cross its course.”
Video released by the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet appears to support the U.S. claim that a Russian ship “aggressively approached” the USS Farragut from behind and failed to heed blasts from the U.S. destroyer’s horn. -
“In fact, only his compatriots could have dealt with him - both Russian Chechens and “Ichkeria” militants, hiding in Europe from criminal prosecution [in Russia].”
Likely falseChechens “hiding” from Russia in Europe would not ask to speak with the Russian EmbassyThe suspect in the murder investigation arrested by the court in Berlin demanded to talk with representatives of the Russian Embassy – a request that is highly unlikely to be made by Chechen separatists “hiding” from Russia in Europe. -
“The Ukrainian Navy’s claims that the Black Sea Fleet’s Smetlivy patrol vessel entered the closed area of the Sea Breeze 2019 exercise are untrue.”
Whether or not the Russian guided-missile destroyer Smetlivy sailed into a zone being used for multinational naval live-fire drills, the ship was present in the vicinity of the drills. Russia is demonstratively aggressive toward NATO’s presence in the Black Sea. -
"The US cruiser Chancellorsville suddenly changed its course and crossed the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer’s course some 50 meters away from the ship. In order to prevent a collision, the Admiral Vinogradov’s crew was forced to conduct an emergency maneuver."
As the U.S. vessel was recovering its helicopter, it was on a constant course and had right-of-way according to international regulations. -
“Everything was done to ensure that our guys, and in their person the entire Caucasus, were humiliated and trampled in the dirt. The result speaks for itself – look at the monstrously disproportionate punishment imposed on our fighters and that [imposed on] the swaggering Irish provocateur Conor McGregor.”
The Nevada State Athletic Commission offered Nurmagomedov the chance to reduce his suspension to six months – the same as McGregor’s – by participating in a local anti-bullying campaign, but he refused. -
“The Russian economy has seen the biggest growth since 2012, expanding by 2.3 percent last year, according to preliminary estimates provided by [the] Russian state statistics agency.”
The statistics are contradicted by numerous independent analyses and have even been questioned by senior Russian officials. The past head of the responsible government agency was recently dismissed. -
“Objectively, for the Americans contacts with ISIL are more interesting… – for spreading sabotage actions beyond the pales of Afghanistan. On the border with Turkmenistan there is a major offensive is being cooked by Islamic State and allied groups. That is where they may surface.”
The Afghan Special Forces confirmed they conducted the operation arresting Islamic State members and transferring them under the Afghan National Directorate of Security control. The U.S. was not involved. -
“All my chefs are employed by the Federal Guard Service. They are servicemen holding different ranks. I have no other chefs. For your information, we do not outsource this job, and the Federal Guard Service employees do all the work.”
Despite Putin’s claim, a new firm reportedly linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin won all the Kremlin contracts for catering services and grocery supplies without competition during the last three months.