Yesterday’s attack on Ukraine’s Poltava is one of the deadliest since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Misinformation is now being spread that Swedish military instructors are among the dead.
– There is no truth in that information, says Therese Fagerstedt, press manager of the Armed Forces.
Over 50 were killed and nearly 300 injured in the Russian robot attack in Poltava on Tuesday.
Now information that Swedish armed forces employees are among the victims has gained momentum. A post on X claiming this was viewed 350,000 times within 24 hours.
But the Swedish Armed Forces dismisses the information as pure misinformation.
“Taught to live with”
– It is always difficult to know exactly what the purpose might be. But it could be about wanting to influence the Swedish support to Ukraine, cause some kind of damage or create concern in general, says Defense Forces press chief Therese Fagerstedt.
She says that none of the employees of the Armed Forces were in the area at the time of the attack – and in this way they have been able to dismiss the information.
– We in the Armed Forces monitor the information environment continuously. It is part of our situation and misinformation is nothing new, but something we have had to learn to live with, says Therese Fagerstedt.
Foreign Ministry: No information about dead or injured Swedes
The Foreign Ministry also dismisses the information that Swedes were killed in the attack.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently has no information about dead or injured Swedes”, they write in a comment to TV4 Nyheterna.