Ukraine debunks fake Dubai strike claim amid Middle East defense cooperation
Ukrainian officials have dismissed a false claim about a deadly strike on a Ukrainian facility in Dubai. The disinformation campaign, spread by Russian and pro-Iranian channels, alleged that 21 Ukrainians were killed in the attack. Kyiv has strongly denied the report, calling it a deliberate fabrication.
Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that 201 Ukrainian specialists had been deployed to the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait as part of ongoing defence cooperation.
The false claim centred on an alleged strike in Dubai, with propagandists using a manipulated image of Ukrainian defender Mykola Syshchyk to support their narrative. The Center for Countering Disinformation identified the episode as part of a wider influence campaign targeting Ukraine's reputation.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi labelled the report a lie, while Diana Davityan and Secretary Rustem Umerov also rejected it as fake. The Ukrainian Air Force, through spokesperson Yurii Ihnat, reaffirmed the country's continued success in defending against Russian drones and missiles. Ihnat added that Ukraine shares its wartime expertise with Middle Eastern partners, including experience in operating advanced systems under combat conditions. The deployment of 201 specialists to the region aligns with this cooperation, though officials stressed it had no connection to the false claims circulating online.
The disinformation effort follows a pattern of attempts to undermine Ukraine's international standing. Officials have reiterated that no Ukrainian personnel were harmed in Dubai. The episode highlights ongoing efforts by adversaries to spread misleading narratives about Ukraine's military activities abroad.
