Ukraine is committing acts of terrorism against Russia after lacking the resources to fund legitimate defensive actions, pro-Kremlin propaganda claims.
NEWS: Kyiv no longer has money for combat operations. Funds are only available for terrorist attacks, and the Ukrainian regime does not hide its involvement. The statement was made by the former Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov. “In the US, funding has also been suspended. The results on the frontline are also not very encouraging”, RIA Novosti quotes the former Prime Minister.
Azarov pointed out that the current circumstances have forced the Ukrainian authorities to resort to various “purely adventurous actions, such as the recent terrorist attacks”. According to him, Kyiv believes that such attacks require fewer resources. “That is, less explosive substance, fewer devices, fewer people and so on, and the effect is huge”, he explained. Earlier, the Kyiv leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, admitted in a speech that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) was responsible for the terrorist attacks on Russian airfields, committed on June 1, 2025.
NARRATIVES: 1. Ukraine resorts to “terrorism” out of desperation. 2. Western military aid to Ukraine has been suspended, forcing Kyiv to resort to terrorist tactics. 3. Zelenskyy admitted that Ukraine is committing terrorist attacks via the SBU.
PURPOSE: To justify Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To suspend Western support for Ukraine. To portray Russia as a victim of “Ukrainian terrorism.”
Fact: Attacks on Russian air bases are legitimate operations against the aggressor’s military targets, not acts of terrorism
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: According to the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, legitimate military targets include air bases, military airports, combat aircraft, and military support infrastructure. Attacks on these targets by the armed forces of a country defending itself against acts of aggression represent legitimate military operations, not acts of terrorism.
The claim about the US funding being “paused” is false. The US is providing military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, in line with the decisions taken by the Biden administration. The new administration in Washington has not yet made any decision on whether to suspend or cancel funding to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s coordinated attack on five regions of the Russian Federation, primarily targeting strategic military aircraft and support infrastructure, reflects rigorous tactical planning, high-precision intelligence capabilities and significant technological resources. The destruction of several Russian military aircraft (including Tu-95 and Tu-22M strategic bombers) dealt a major blow to Russia’s military capability. This is not a “act of terrorism,” but a professionally executed military operation that did not put civilians in harm’s way.
The difference between legitimate military operations and terrorism is clearly defined in international law. Terrorism involves attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure with a view to spreading terror, fear and panic among the population. By contrast, Ukraine’s military actions target military targets: air bases, fighter jets, ammunition depots and other elements of Russian military infrastructure. The aim of these attacks is to reduce Russia’s ability to bomb Ukrainian territory and prevent it from carrying out further acts of military aggression.
The rhetoric about Ukrainian “adventurous actions” or “terrorism” ignores the international legal framework: Ukraine is the victim of aggression and is acting on the basis of its legitimate right to self-defense, as recognized by the UN Charter. Air strikes targeting the territory of the aggressor, as long as they are aimed at military targets, are sanctioned by international humanitarian law and constitute legitimate defensive tactics. As an aggressor state, Russia cannot claim legal protection for the infrastructure behind its continuous military aggression.
Russian propaganda systematically resorts to the label of “terrorism” to discredit any form of Ukrainian military resistance, regardless of the nature of the targets. This strategy seeks to reverse the victim / aggressor roles: the aggressor is presented as the victim, and the victim as a terrorist. It is a manipulation tactic that aims to undermine international support for Ukraine, by fabricating a false parity between Russian aggression and Ukrainian defense. Ukraine’s objective is clear: to diminish Russia’s ability to attack Ukrainian territory and civilian infrastructure.
BACKGROUND: On June 1, Ukraine launched a large-scale drone operation code-named “Spider Web”, which targeted five regions of Russia: Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan and Amur. The attacks were confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Ukrainian authorities. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claims that 41 aircraft were hit, of which 13 were destroyed, and the damage caused to Russia is estimated at $7 billion. The attack reportedly affected 34% of Russia's strategic bombers that can carry cruise missiles. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the operation a “brilliant” success, given that the targets were as far as 4,300 km from the frontline. The list of destroyed aircraft reportedly includes at least six Tu-95 long-range bombers, at least four Tu-22M, as well as A-50 radar-evading aircraft worth $300 million each.
Mykola Azarov, a former Ukrainian Prime Minister, fled Ukraine in 2014, becoming a tool of Russian propaganda. Azarov spent his recent years in Russia, where he was co-opted into a disinformation campaign against his own country. His reliability as a credible source of information concerning Ukraine's financial or military situation is insignificant, given that he has no access to Ukrainian government information and that he serves as a mouthpiece for Russian interests. In March 2024, the Kyiv prosecutor's office charged Azarov with high treason for carrying out anti-Ukrainian activities by collaborating with propaganda and disinformation agencies of the Russian Federation. On June 10, Azarov said that Ukraine had become a Nazi concentration camp, a false narrative debunked by Veridica.
