Vladislav Pozdniakov, founder of the Russian “Male State” movement banned in 2021 for extremism, on Friday denied any link to the false bomb threats that have disrupted flights across several European countries, Digi24 reported citing AFP / Agerpres.

Some affected airports — including Birmingham, Rome and Sofia — received messages signed by so-called “Male State fighters.” Pozdniakov wrote on Telegram that the movement “simply no longer exists since 2021” and that those staging provocations in the EU are “using a flag that is not theirs.”

“It is not that I particularly care about Europe, its security or its economy; I am simply answering European journalists,” he added. His statement does not identify who is behind the alerts; European authorities are treating the wave as a possible hybrid attack.

For several days, hoax threats have caused delays and, in some cases, fighter escorts for civilian aircraft. The episode fits a broader rise in hybrid incidents in Europe that officials and researchers sometimes link to Russia or Iran, without definitive attribution here.

“Male State” was founded in 2016 by Pozdniakov as a VK community and later took on a semi-political cast mixing misogyny and nationalism. It was best known for online harassment until Russian authorities labelled it extremist and banned it in 2021.

Press reports say the ideology survived online and that some offshoot communities support Russia’s war in Ukraine. There is no public evidence yet tying the historical organisation to this week’s alerts; the founder denies any involvement.

Image: aircraft at an airport (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Sources consulted: Founder of Russia’s Male State movement denies any link to Europe bomb threats — Digi24.