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Russian Propaganda Calls Deadly Kyiv Missile Strike “Staged,” Ukraine Refutes Claim
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![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation stated that Russian propaganda outlets have launched a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at deflecting responsibility for a missile strike on a residential building in Kyiv that killed 24 people on May 14.
According to the agency, Russian information resources followed what officials described as a now-familiar playbook, mass-distributing false claims that the destruction of the multi-story apartment block was "the result of Ukrainian air defense work."
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Some Russian propagandists went further, asserting that the tragedy in the capital was "a staged performance" allegedly orchestrated by Ukraine itself.
The Center singled out narratives circulating on Russian Telegram channels suggesting that Ukraine had "independently mined and blown up the building for the picture," calling such claims patently absurd.
"While the enemy invents senseless theories, Ukrainian investigators and experts at the impact site are step by step documenting this crime and gathering evidence," the agency said in its statement. Preliminary findings indicate the residential building was struck by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile.
The Kh-101 is an air-launched cruise missile that has been used extensively by Russian forces against Ukrainian cities since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The Center for Countering Disinformation, which operates under Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, placed full responsibility for the civilian deaths and damage to infrastructure on the Russian Federation.
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"No cynical justifications, absurd theories, or information manipulations will help the aggressor conceal yet another war crime against humanity," the statement concluded.
The propaganda push from Moscow unfolded against a grim backdrop in Kyiv itself, where the human cost of the May 14 attack was still being tallied as the disinformation campaign gained momentum.
The recovery operation in Kyiv's Darnytskyi district concluded on May 15 after more than 28 hours of continuous work at the site of Russia's mass strike, which killed 24 people.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported that an additional 48 people were injured in the attack, as emergency crews wrapped up search operations at the destroyed residential building.
Among the dead were three children, later identified by Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko as girls aged 12, 15, and 17. Rescue teams removed more than 3,000 cubic meters of debris from the site before transitioning to emergency stabilization and recovery work.
The scale of the trauma was reflected in the demand for mental health support, with specialists from the State Emergency Service and National Police fielding nearly 400 requests for psychological assistance in the aftermath.
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-b0e5d9eba35f6025dd9ee312832ab13e.png "Commander of Russia’s “Yugra” battalion, Lt. Col. Oleg Rudomyotov. (Source: Russian media)")
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