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Fatima Tlis

Produced by Fatima Tlis

May 30, 2017
Russian TV: First U.S. Prosecution Under Magnitsky Act “Falls Apart”

Russian state TV’s Channel One reported on May 24 that the U.S. government case against a Russian businessman accused of money laundering under the Magnitsky Act “actually fell apart” in a New York federal court. In fact, a settlement was reached in the case, with the defendant paying the U.S. Treasury nearly $6 million, pending court approval.
May 26, 2017
Russian Foreign Ministry: American Soldiers Selling Weapons to IS

Russia’s Foreign Ministry released a statement accusing American troops in Afghanistan of selling weapons to IS commanders. A fact-check suggests the story was fabricated.
May 24, 2017
Russian MP: U.S. Playing Into Terrorists' Hands in Syria

A prominent member of Russia’s parliament said the U.S. was “playing into the hands” of Islamic State and other terrorists by launching an airstrike against forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The U.S. strike was in fact part of an effort to stop repeated violations of the deconfliction zone by Syrian government forces that have endangered the lives of American troops.
May 18, 2017
Russian Scholar Justifies North Korea’s Nuclear Aspirations

Russia’s state-owned Sputnik media network quoted a Russian academic who claimed that North Korea has constantly been denied “conditions for normal negotiations,” which has pushed Pyongyang to demonstrate its nuclear weapons. Experts and the history of negotiations with North Korea show that statement to be false.
May 16, 2017
Lavrov: White House Denies Scandal Involving Photos of Trump-Lavrov-Kislyak Meeting

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking on Sunday in Beijing, China, said information was published on the U.S. White House website explaining that “there was no scandal” involving photographs taken by a Russian photojournalist during President Donald Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Lavrov and Russian Ambassador the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. Russian media published the photos despite the fact that the meeting was closed to the press.
May 12, 2017
Russian Lawmakers: U.S. Bill on North Korea a Bid to Take Control of Russia’s Seaports

Russian lawmakers have harshly criticized revised U.S. legislation on North Korea’s nuclear program, claiming it is a bid to “control” Russia’s Far East seaports. In reality, the legislation sets the groundwork for monitoring and imposing sanctions on states violating a United Nation Security Council resolution on North Korea.
May 08, 2017
Russian Foreign Ministry Claims Victory Over Ukraine in International Court of Justice

The Russian Foreign Ministry says the International Court of Justice found Ukraine’s suit against Russia “implausible.” Court documents contradict this claim, and experts say the ministry’s characterization of the ruling demonstrates that Russia is “still litigating the same argument that it just lost.”
May 04, 2017
Russian Foreign Ministry: Sanctions are Punishment for an 'Independent Foreign Policy'

Russia’s Foreign Ministry says the sanctions imposed by more than 30 countries after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine were a response to Moscow’s “independent foreign policy” and "punishment" for Crimeans voting to join Russia in a 2014 referendum. Experts strongly disagree.
May 02, 2017
Fake U.S. Journalist Shares 'White House Insider Secrets' on Russian TV

Greg Vainer’s real name is Gregory Vinnikov. He was born and raised in the Soviet Union, moved to the U.S. in 1980 and then moved back to Russia around 2009. In the U.S., he left no mark as a journalist but, after launching a travel agency in New York, was sued by creditors at least five times. In addition, former clients accuse him of stealing their money. He has never been a member of the Republican National Committee; in fact, it seems he has never even registered to vote in the United States.
April 26, 2017
Kremlin: Report Tying Russia to Hacking Campaign Targeting France's Macron “Fake News”

After the Japan-headquartered security software company Trend Micro reported the discovery of an organized hacking campaign linked to Russia and targeting French presidential front-runner Emmanuel Macron, the Kremlin called the accusations “fake news.” A fact-check, however, points to a hacking group linked to Russian intelligence and accused of being behind similar attacks on the U.S. Democratic Party and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
April 20, 2017
Head of Russian Orthodox Church Accuses Ukraine of Oppressing Adherents

The head of Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, accused Ukraine of oppressing Russian Orthodox parishes and its adherents of civil rights. A fact-check reveals that Russian Orthodox believers in Ukraine are breaking with the Moscow-led hierarchy in response to Kirill’s support of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
April 18, 2017
Russia Claims it Gave U.N. Samples From Earlier Sarin Attacks, But Was Ignored

The president of the Moscow-based Institute of the Middle East, Yevgeny Satanovsky, accused the United Nations of ignoring samples of the chemical weapon sarin used in earlier incidents in Syria’s Aleppo province that the Russian military supposedly handed over to the U.N., suggesting the world body would ignore evidence of a sarin poisoning incident in Idlib province on April 4. However, Russia did not hand over samples from the earlier incidents.
April 12, 2017
Russian Military Politician: Tracking Station in Nicaragua Does Not Spy on US

One of the Kremlin’s top military men slammed speculation first put forth in the Washington Post that a Russian satellite tracking station commissioned this month in Nicaragua is capable of gathering satellite surveillance information. But one expert and Russian agency literature say the system known as Glonass was originally designed for military purposes and has dual use capabilities including military surveillance.
April 10, 2017
Are Jehovah’s Witnesses' Activities 'Extremist,' as Russia Claims?

Russia has suspended the activities of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, claiming they present a “threat” to society and violate the nation’s anti-extremism law. The European Court of Human Rights rejected the allegations as baseless.
April 06, 2017
Russian MOD’s Bid to Pin Chemical Poisoning on “Terrorists” Fails Fact-Check

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Wednesday that the previous day’s devastating poisonous gassing in Khan Sheikhoun was accidently caused by an airstrike on a terrorist facility. Yet, the time that the gas poisoning was first reported preceded by at least five hours the time the Russian Defense Ministry says the alleged airstrike took place. Meanwhile, a leading chemical warfare expert dismissed the Russian version of events as “rubbish.”
March 31, 2017
Lavrov: U.S. and EU Gave Kyiv an Ultimatum and Caused the Ukraine Crisis

Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov says the United States sought to “take over this geopolitical space around Russia,” and that the U.S. and EU gave the Ukrainians the ultimatum “either you are with us, or you are with Russia against us.” Experts say it was actually Russia which delivered such an ultimatum to Ukraine.
March 29, 2017
Sputnik Chief says Western Media 'Inflate' Protests in Russia

The editor-in-chief of Sputnik, the Kremlin-backed international multimedia news service, claims the attention that Western media paid to Sunday’s anti-government protests in Russia was “disproportionate.” In fact, the anti-Kremlin demonstrations were the largest in Russia in the last five years.
March 27, 2017
Kadyrov, Yet Again, Claims Total Victory Over Terrorism in Chechnya

The Kremlin-appointed head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, bragged about his achievements in defeating terrorism during a televised address. That same night, federal authorities reported that six men carried out a suicide attack on a Russian military base in Chechnya. The Islamic State group (IS) claimed responsibility for the raid.
March 23, 2017
Kremlin’s Envoy: Afghan Taliban No Longer Pursuing Jihad

The Russian president’s special envoy to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, said Moscow considers the Taliban a legitimate part of a resolution of the country’s conflict because the group “no longer nurtures the ideas of trans-border jihad.” Taliban leaders, however, recently posted a video vowing to wage jihad until the end, and the group continues deadly attacks on civilians.
March 21, 2017
Russian MP Claims 100 Percent of Crimeans Would Vote 'Today' to Join Russia

On the third anniversary of Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, Natalya Poklonskaya, the former Crimean prosecutor general who helped Moscow’s efforts to take over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula, claimed “100 percent of Crimeans” would vote to be part of Russia if the 2014 referendum were held today. Polling data and experts suggest otherwise.

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