Fact Check: Did Putin threaten to attack US bases in Pakistan?
MOSCOW, RUSSIA: Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has intensified following the death of Iran’s supreme leader in a joint operation by the United States and Israel, a post has been going viral on social media platforms, claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to attack a US base in Pakistan. Let us fact-check it.
Claim: Vladimir Putin threatened to attack US base in Pakistan
The post that surfaced on X appears to have been tweeted by Putin from his official handle.
The viral tweet, which has garnered more than six million views, along with thousands of likes and comments, stated, “BREAKING: Russia will soon carry out an attack on the U.S. base in Pakistan & ...See more.”
Those commenting under the post even appear to believe the tweet to be authentic, while a few others remained skeptical.
The post garnered traction as the United States’ conflict with Iran reached its sixth day on Thursday.
Fact Check: Fake, Vladimir Putin never made such a statement
The claim, however, is false, as the X handle, despite having a blue tick, is an unofficial commentary account of Putin and is not affiliated with the Russian president.
The account states in its bio, “Unofficial Commentary Page Putin's Army. Not related to any government.”
A search on Google does not yield any official statement by Putin about threatening to attack the US, which, if true, would have been widely reported by prominent news outlets.
A fact check by Grok confirmed it to be untrue, stating, “This claim is not true. No credible reports from any major news outlets (Reuters, AP, BBC, etc.) mention Russia planning or launching an attack on any U.S. base in Pakistan."
"Searches across the web and recent events show only diplomatic criticism from Russia over U.S./Israel strikes on Iran, plus unrelated Pakistan-Afghanistan border clashes. This seems like unverified propaganda.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy to send drones to assist United States
The claim surfaced as the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced to send drones to the Middle East to assist the US and its allies in the region against Iran.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said Washington had requested Ukraine’s assistance because of its extensive experience in defending against the Iranian-designed drones, which have been widely used in the war with Russia.
Zelenskyy emphasized that the same type of drones currently being deployed by Iran in the Middle East have been used extensively against Ukrainian cities since Russia’s invasion.
“The Iranian attack drones are the same ‘Shaheds’ that have been striking our cities, villages, and Ukrainian infrastructure throughout this war,” he said in an earlier statement.
