Western media are criticized for exaggerating Russian accounts of the Crimean attack

Western experts accused leading media outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian and CNN of inadvertently promoting Russian narratives in their coverage of Ukraine’s recent attack on a military facility in occupied Crimea.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry confirmed the attack on the Crimean Space Monitoring and Communications Center, a key military site that helped the Russians attack civilian objects in Ukrainian cities.

However, the first reports from major news agencies focused heavily on Russian reports, which mainly focused on civilian casualties on the beaches of Crimea.

German commentator Jürgen Nauditt pointed out obvious contradictions in Russia’s official statements. Russia initially claimed that it had intercepted an ATACMS missile supplied by the US over the beach, before moving on to accusing Ukraine of deliberately carrying out attacks on civilians.

“One rule always applies – the Russians always lie,” wrote Nauditt.

Missile expert Fabian Hoffmann of the University of Oslo noted that video evidence strongly suggested that the casualties on the beach were caused by debris from an intercepted Russian air defense system rather than a direct attack.

“The tourists were lucky that only a few M74 bombs detonated near the beach, most of them in the water. Otherwise there could have been a bloody massacre,” said Hoffmann.

Reporting from Ukraine, Chicago-based journalist Joe Lindsley of WGN Radio noted that the Western media focused on Russian casualties in Crimea, but paid little attention to the Ukrainian civilians killed in Russian attacks on the city of Kharkiv in recent days.

“Where are the headlines about Ukraine’s great success in using precise American weapons to hit the places where Russia is attacking free people?” Lindsley asked.

On June 23, explosions were reported in occupied Crimea, including in Sevastopol, Yevpatoria and Saky. Russian authorities said they intercepted five American ATACMS missiles in Sevastopol. Debris killed three people and injured around a hundred.

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