Kyiv and Abu Dhabi Denounce Iranian Claims of Missile Strike on Dubai Warehouse as Coordinated Disinformation

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry and Security Council officially debunk Iranian claims of an attack on a drone warehouse in Dubai involving 21 Ukrainians.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 28, 2026, 10:31 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Interfax-Ukraine

Official Denial of the Alleged Dubai Strike

The Ukrainian government has moved swiftly to neutralize a viral disinformation campaign regarding a supposed military engagement in the United Arab Emirates. Diana Davityan, spokesperson for National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov, explicitly told Interfax-Ukraine on Saturday that the reported strike "does not correspond to reality." The dismissal follows a report from Iran’s Fars news agency, which claimed that Iranian forces had successfully targeted a facility in Dubai allegedly housing Ukrainian-made drones and a team of 21 Ukrainian nationals.

A "Regime of Lies": Kyiv’s Critique of Iranian Media

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhy characterized the report as a calculated provocation intended to destabilize regional diplomatic efforts. "This is a lie; we officially deny this information," Tykhy stated, further drawing a direct parallel between the information warfare strategies of Tehran and Moscow. He suggested that the Iranian regime frequently conducts such "disinformation operations" to create a false sense of military reach and to intimidate international partners. The timing of the fake report is particularly notable, occurring just as President Zelenskyy concluded a high-level defense summit in Abu Dhabi.

The Anatomy of the Fars News Agency Claim

The original report by the Fars news agency—often associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—provided specific details intended to lend the story an air of authenticity. It alleged that 21 Ukrainians were present at a precise "drone storage site" in Dubai during a kinetic Iranian strike. However, no evidence of an explosion, emergency service deployment, or structural damage was reported by local Emirati authorities or independent witnesses in Dubai. Analysts view the specificity of the numbers (21 nationals) as a hallmark of "black propaganda" designed to elicit a rapid emotional response from the Ukrainian public.