In August, Georgian and Russian-language Facebook accounts (1, 2) spread information about the death of an American general. According to Nona Sharabidze’s post, American Major General Anthony Potts was killed in a Russian missile attack on the NATO headquarters in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, and a Russian-speaking Facebook user writes that Potts died in a Russian missile attack on a bunker in Lviv.
The information spread on social media about the death of General Potts in Ukraine is not true. In fact, Major General Anthony Potts died in a plane crash in Maryland on July 25, 2023.
The American General died in a plane crash while on board of a single-engine plane (Piper PA-28 Cherokee) on July 25, 2023. The plane crashed in Havre de Grace, Maryland. The cause of the crash is still unknown. The accident is being investigated by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Potts was the sole passenger in the aircraft and was declared dead at the scene, Harford County Fire & EMS reported.
A few minutes after the above Twitter post, the Maryland fire protection service also released information about the plane crash.
Russian blogger Sergey Kolyasnikov attributes the death of the American general to the missile attack carried out by Russia in Ukraine. According to him, the United States and NATO are trying to cover up the damage caused by the missile attack and attribute the loss of the general to an accident. It should be noted that this opinion is not supported by facts and there is no evidence that would confirm the presence and death of Potts in Ukraine. In addition, in July 2023, Russia launched a missile attack on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in the evening hours of July 28, the last missile attack on Lviv took place on July 6, 2023, and a plane crash in Maryland that killed the American general occurred on July 25, 2023.
Potts reportedly planned to retire after 36 years of military service. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in Army Aviation in 1986 and later served in operations: Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. Just weeks before his death, Potts led the PEO C3T program to acquire, field and support the Army’s communications networks, radios, satellite systems and other related equipment. Prior to that, Potts led PEO Soldier, which produced equipment such as uniforms, body armor, night vision goggles and weapons.
It is noteworthy that after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, Russian propaganda has been actively circulating about the destruction of NATO and U.S. officers in Ukraine. Information that NATO or U.S. military personnel have been captured or killed in Ukraine is intended to portray the United States as officially involved in the war. A similar claim was repeatedly verified by Myth Detector after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For more information, see the articles below:
- What is the Information about the Destruction of NATO and U.S. Officers in Kyiv based on?
- Conspiracy about the Existence of Hidden NATO Bio-Laboratory under the Azovstal Factory
- Timeline and Origin of the Photo Presented as an Evidence of the Capture of a U.S. Admiral
- Where is the Canadian General and does the Photo of AVIA.PRO Depict His Capture?
Facebook user Nona Sharabidze regularly spreads false information and Kremlin narratives with anti-Western content. Myth Detector has repeatedly verified the disinformation spread by Sharabidze in the past.
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