Archives Sources

Fake: Ukraine keeps foreign ships out of ports under threat of sinking

International organizations confirm that it is Russia, and not Ukraine, that is blocking some 90 ships carrying foodstuffs in the Black Sea. There have also been at least three recorded cases of Russia bombing merchant ships carrying goods from Black Sea ports.

Russian media continue to accuse Ukraine of being "aggressive" not only towards Russia, but also towards the entire civilized world. Since February 24, 2022, state media have actively promoted the claim that Ukrainian authorities are allegedly "forcibly detaining" "some 70 foreign merchant ships" in ports to "blackmail the whole world". Russian media also claim that Ukraine has "deliberately mined" the Black Sea to "create Russophobe provocations".

No evidence that Ukraine attacked a train station in one of its cities

There's no credible evidence that Ukraine was behind the April 8 attack at the Kramatorsk train station. A video used to bolster this claim is fake ' it did not come from the BBC.

The claim has largely been spread by pro-Kremlin accounts following reports of civilian casualties and contradict earlier Russian posts that initially took credit for the bombing.

The Tochka-U missile used in the attack, and the serial number on it, isn't proof that it came from the Ukrainian army. Several news reports, legitimate photos and videos show that Russia has used these missile systems recently.

Our ruling
Facebook posts claim that Ukraine was responsible for the Kramatorsk train station bombing.

A video used to bolster this rumor is fake. Although the video has a BBC logo, it was not produced by the news organization.

There's no credible evidence that Ukraine was behind the attack.

The Tochka missile used in the attack, and the serial number on it, isn't proof that it came from the Ukrainian army. Several news reports, legitimate photos and videos show that Russia has used these missile systems recently. The rumors that Ukraine attacked the train station have largely been spread by pro-Kremlin social media accounts.

We rate this claim False.

Fake: All Ukrainian Refugees Willingly Going to Russia

Citing the Russian Ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova, Russian media are claiming that the Kremlin is not forcefully deporting Ukrainians from territories currently occupied by the invading Russian army. [...]

The evacuation of civilians from territories occupied by invading Russian troops has been problematic and raised numerous questions from the very beginning of the war. In parts of Mariupol captured by the Russian forces, many civilians had no choice but to go to territories not controlled by Ukraine or to go to Russia. Many did so under pressure from the Russian military, who forced them to leave their shelters and hiding places and directed them to "filtration camps" for identification and interrogation. Those who passed the filtration were then transported to various Russian regions, those who did not were imprisoned.

Senior US military officer was not captured by Russian forces in Ukraine

As Russian strikes pounded the besieged port city of Mariupol in Ukraine, Facebook posts shared in various languages claimed US General Roger L. Cloutier was captured by Russian forces there. However, NATO said the rumour was "completely false" and that Cloutier, who leads NATO's Allied Land Command, had not been to Ukraine since July 2021. Cloutier was in Turkey when the false claims about his whereabouts circulated online.

Fake: Ukrainian Drones for Spraying Poisonous Substances Found

The drones Russian media are claiming Ukrainian troops use to spray poisons are not combat drones, but rather DJI AGRAs T30 agricultural drones which are used in farmland management.

According to the All Ukrainian Federation of Drone Owners, the drones in the video circulated by the Russian media belong to their client and they were stolen by the Russian military.

No, Ukraine isn’t the money laundering or child sex trafficking capital of the world

Other countries have worse money laundering and human trafficking problems than Ukraine, according to experts and government reports.

Now amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a post claiming Ukraine is the "money laundering and child sex trafficking capital of the world!"

According to the State Department's latest Trafficking in Persons report, Russia has a more serious problem with child sex trafficking than Ukraine. Both countries struggle with the issue, the report said, but Ukraine took action to address it between 2020 and 2021, while Russia failed to make "significant efforts" to eliminate the problem.

While Ukraine convicted traffickers, increased financial assistance to victims, and launched awareness campaigns, Russia "convicted only one trafficker," failed to "initiate any new prosecutions of suspected traffickers," and "offered no funding or programs to provide services for trafficking victims."

Russia, not Ukraine, is among 11 governments the report says have "a documented 'policy or pattern' of human trafficking, trafficking in government-funded programs, forced labor in government-affiliated medical services or other sectors, sexual slavery in government camps, or employment or recruitment of child soldiers.

The report also ranks countries based on the extent of government efforts to meet minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. Tier 1, the United States' ranking, is the highest, but it doesn't mean the country has no human trafficking problems. Rather, it means the country fully meets minimum standards to eliminate trafficking. Tier 2 ' Ukraine's tier ' means a country's government doesn't fully meet the minimum standards but is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance. Tier 3 includes countries such as Afghanistan and Russia that don't meet the minimum standards and aren't trying to.

We rate this post False.