DISINFO: Queensland mass murderer was trained in Ukraine
SUMMARY
Right-wing militants are treated with kid gloves and, like their Islamist brethren, are allowed to travel to Ukraine and obtain combat training and experience in the Azov Regiment. Occasionally this leads to “blowback”, as in the case of the Queensland mass murderer whose fighting skills were honed in Ukraine.
RESPONSE
It is not clear what the author of the piece means, referring to the “Queensland Mass Murder”. The arsonist who killed 15 young people at a youth hostel in Queensland, Australia, had no connections to Ukraine or any other European country. It is possible that Russia-based South Front has mixed Australia and New Zealand and is referring to the 2019 terrorist attack in Christchurch, where a whites supremacist killed 51 worshippers at a mosque. The perpetrator, recently sentenced to a life-time prison term, had indeed contacts with white supremacists in Europe and US, but no connections to any Ukrainian organisations or individuals.