Illustration: Truthmeter.mk
This article was first published by Truthmeter.mk (North Macedonia), within the framework of Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Project.
The claim that Russia “eliminated 70 NATO officers” in a Ukrainian restaurant is false and unsupported by evidence. It is a classic disinformation tactic–presenting civilian casualties as a “legitimate military target.” This serves a propaganda purpose, to justify an attack on a civilian facility and to reinforce the narrative that Russia is fighting NATO directly, not Ukraine
We analyze a Facebook post which says:
Unbelievable!
Russia just eliminated over 70 NATO officers in a Ukrainian restaurant with Iskander missiles
Truthmeter.mk was unable to find news that Russia “just eliminated over 70 NATO officers,” as the post claims.
What we were able to find is that in the first days of April 2025, numerous pro-Russian media outlets and social media channels reported that the Russian armed forces had destroyed a restaurant in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih with Iskander missiles, allegedly killing over 70 NATO officers.
This news spread quickly, especially on the social networks X and Telegram, presenting it as a great military success. However, multiple independent sources have shown that this is disinformation.
On April 4, 2025, Russia did launch a missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih.
According to Ukrainian authorities, the attack targeted a populated area and caused civilian casualties. According to Reuters, at least 19 people were killed, including nine children, and dozens were injured.
A few hours after the attack, the Ministry of Defense of Russia issued a statement saying the strike was “precise” and targeted a meeting of Ukrainian commanders and NATO instructors at a restaurant in Kryvyi Rih. Some media outlets even reported the death toll as high as 85 “NATO officers.”
However, there is no independent evidence to support that claim.
According to StopFake’s analysis, all available videos and photos from the scene show that the restaurant was damaged, but not destroyed, and that there were no military personnel or equipment there.
EUVSDisinfo, the European Union’s service for combating disinformation, points out that such stories are used to justify strikes on civilian targets.
Video footage, as reported by France 24, does not show the presence of foreign soldiers in the restaurant.
The Ukrainian General Staff officially rejected claims that there was a meeting with NATO personnel there and described the attack as a “terrorist act against the civilian population.”
The claim that Russia “eliminated 70 NATO officers” in a Ukrainian restaurant is false and unsupported by evidence. It is a classic disinformation tactic–presenting civilian casualties as a “legitimate military target.” This serves a propaganda purpose, to justify an attack on a civilian facility and to reinforce the narrative that Russia is fighting NATO directly, not Ukraine.
Taking all this into account, we assess the post as untrue.
