United States
Thursday 20 July 2017
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Sputnik
Russian government international broadcaster
“Nevada Declares State of Emergency Over Weed Shortage”
Read more...The Kremlin-funded international broadcaster Sputnik reported that the governor of Nevada declared a state of emergency over the state’s shortage of marijuana supplies. In fact, no state of emergency was ordered in Nevada. -
Viktor Medvedchuk
head of pro-Russian political organization Ukrainian Choice
“Perhaps for the U.S. this is indeed a ‘golden era,’ but for Ukraine, where ‘reformers’ shut down coal mines en masse and destroy the coal sector, this is a period of decline and total dependence on Washington.”
Read more...The leader of the pro-Russian Ukrainian Choice organization claims Ukraine is falling into “total dependence” on the United States for coal imports. In fact, Russia remains the country’s top supplier. -
TASS
Russian state news agency
“Iranian television on Thursday distributed photographs confirming the death of the head of the Islamic State terrorist group, Abu Baqr al-Baghdadi.”
Read more...Russia’s state news agency TASS reported that Iranian TV had published photographic proof that Islamic State leader Abu Baqr al-Baghdadi was killed in a Russian airstrike in May. In fact, the same pictures had been circulating around the Internet since 2014. -
Russian Foreign Ministry
Russian Federation
“There have been no violations on our part. The U.S. claims otherwise, without providing any specific information that could be verified in order to clarify the situation.”
Read more...Russia says the U.S. lacks specific data proving Moscow has violated the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. In fact, the U.S. provided a detailed account of Russia's violations. -
TASS
Russian government news agency
“According to the research, 27% of its participants regard the Russian leader with confidence, believing that he ‘is doing the right things on the world stage’."
Read more...Russia’s TASS state news agency misrepresented the results of the Pew Research Center’s 2017 global survey in a way favorable to Vladimir Putin. The actual results of the survey concerning Putin were the opposite of what TASS reported. -
Alexander Zhilin
Director of the Center for the Study of Applied Problems of National Security
“The Americans have completely trampled on international law and today are behaving just like bandits. ... The American fighter violated all norms and agreements and in fact behaved like an air pirate.”
Read more...Zhilin’s claim that the NATO aircraft violated international law is false. Experts and NATO officials tell Polygraph.info that the F-16 acted within established rules of air policing, without violating any norms or agreements, and that, on the contrary, it was Shoigu’s plane that violated established aviation safety rules by refusing to identify itself. -
Elmurod Rasulmukhamedov
First Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation
“The information about the green spaces targeted for renovation was apparently taken from a CIA spy satellite.”
Read more...Moscow’s controversial urban renewal project has prompted discussion among environmentalists, with Greenpeace Russia warning it could have damaging consequences. One Russian organization, however, falsely accused Greenpeace of using CIA spy satellite data to fabricate the report. -
Dmitry Peskov
Russian Presidential Press Secretary
“I know nothing about this, this is the first time I’ve heard about it.” [in reply to a query about then-President Barack Obama directly addressing President Putin on Russia’s alleged hacking attacks on the U.S.]
Read more...President Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, denies any knowledge of a phone call between Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin, in which the U.S. President addressed his Russian counterpart on the subject of alleged Russian cyber-attacks and interference in the 2016 presidential elections. Unfortunately for Peskov, he had briefed journalists on this very phone call less than six months earlier. -
Gen. Sergei Surovikin
Commander of Russian forces in Syria
"Instead of eliminating terrorists guilty of killing hundreds and thousands of Syrian civilians, the U.S.-led coalition together with the Democratic Forces Union [Syrian Democratic Forces] controlled by it, enters into collusion with ringleaders of the ISIL, who give up the settlements they had seized without fighting and head to the provinces where the Syrian government forces are active."
Read more...The commander of Russian forces in Syria said the U.S.-led coalition and the Syrian Democratic Forces have entered “into collusion” with Islamic State “ringleaders” and given them safe passage “south of Raqqah,” and that IS left the city “without fighting.” However, the territory south of Raqqah is controlled by IS, which means they do not need a safe corridor to travel there, while IS is reportedly fighting U.S.-backed forces for every street inside the city. -
Vladimir Putin
President, Russia
“We are aware of the accusations of the use of chemical weapons. There is no proof whatsoever! We offered right after it happened to conduct an inspection exactly at the airport from where President Assad’s aircraft allegedly took off with chemical weapons. They refused – nobody wants that. …because they were afraid that this falsification would be exposed – it’s as simple as that. Regarding the people who were killed or suffered from the use of weapons, including chemical weapons – that is false information.”
Read more...Vladimir Putin said the United States and its allies refused to investigate chemical attacks that took place in Syria in April because they feared the probe would reveal that the attacks were “falsified” and there was no proof the regime of Bashar al-Assad possesses and has used chemical weapons. Putin also claimed that reports about the victims of such attacks is “false information.” However, France, Turkey and the Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have each conducted an independent investigation and produced detailed reports showing the Assad regime carried out sarin gas attacks. -
Nikolai Patrushev
chairman of the Russian Security Council
“Western technologists have not renounced their plans to implement 'color scenarios' in our country […]. As a rule, such an outburst of activity from opposition forces is observed in the run-up to federal election campaigns. It is no accident that the West is allocating financial and material means to non-governmental organizations in Russia and creating so-called "independent" Russian-language mass media.”
Read more...Due to Kremlin crackdown, few foreign-funded NGOs or independent media operating in Russia. Those that still do are not involved in elections such as the forthcoming 2018 presidential ballot. -
Sergei Shoigu
Russian Defense Minister
“With this level of funding we succeeded last year in not only increasing our Armed forces’ combat capability by 14%, but also ensuring strategic parity with the countries of NATO.”
Read more...While the exact numbers may be debatable, Shoigu is mostly correct that Russia spends much less than the United States on defense. His claim that Russia has reached 'strategic parity' with NATO is much shakier. Russia's military technology is largely behind the U.S.'s, but Russia has some advantages, including ability to quickly deploy forces in Eastern Europe.