Kremlin bot network spreads articles claiming ISIS not responsible for Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, points fingers at Kyiv, UK, U.S.

In another piece, the “author” claims that the U.S. and Ukraine were behind the attack because “the terrorists behaved like trained soldiers and used military tactics typical of mercenaries.” It also noted that the suspects had driven in the direction of Ukraine after the shooting, a piece of information that was previously voiced by Russia’s security forces.

The network's websites also posted that the West was deliberately spreading “fake news” that ISIS was behind the attack: «The most surprising thing is the West's reaction to what is happening. Without expressing condolences, the British authorities almost immediately after the attack said that Ukraine was not involved in the massacre in Crocus. Kyiv, in turn, began actively spreading information about the involvement of ISIS militants in the explosions and shooting of civilians without providing any evidence. The New York Times published a fake statement by ‘Islamic State’ terrorists, in which they claimed to be the organizers of the terrorist attack, but used a template that ‘Islamic State’ has not used for several years.”

On the same night — March 23-24, approximately 24 hours after the incident — when the narrative about the West's responsibility for the terrorist attack was being promoted in various languages, the bot network also spread posts aimed at Ukrainian audiences calling for street protests. The posts urged Ukrainians to demand that the Ukrainian authorities rotate or demobilize soldiers in the AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine). This is an example of one of these posts, made by a fake account: