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Debunk.org – Disinformation analysis center

"Debunk.org, VsI, is an independent technology think tank and non-governmental organization that researches disinformation and runs educational media literacy campaigns. Debunk.org carries out disinformation analyses in the Baltic countries, Poland, Georgia and Montenegro, as well as in the United States and North Macedonia together with our partners."

Article screenshot: The biggest obstacle to Ukraine’s counteroffensive? Minefields.

The biggest obstacle to Ukraine’s counteroffensive? Minefields.

The Washington Post reports: "In a painstakingly slow process that has come to define the speed of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, small groups of sappers on the front lines are crawling across minefields — sometimes literally on their stomachs — to detonate Russia’s defenses and clear a path for troops to advance.

The long buildup to the counteroffensive, which began about a month ago across multiple segments of the battlefield in the country’s east and south, gave the Russians time to prepare, soldiers said. Areas between 3 and 10 miles deep in front of the Russians’ main strongholds have been densely mined with antitank and antipersonnel mines and trip wires. These defenses have been successful in stalling the Ukrainian advance, they said."

Posts falsely claim Ukraine cathedral destruction was staged

Social media posts claim footage of people easily removing debris from a Ukrainian cathedral after a Russian air strike proves the attack was faked. This is false; AFP and other news outlets covered the destruction, and the original video appears to show a woman carrying pieces of lightweight insulation.

Are Wagner fighters disguised as migrants?

Claim: "The Wagnerians are entering Poland as migrants - claims Polsat News," users posted on X (previously known as Twitter). They are referring to the Polish media outlet Polsat News as the alleged source of that information. "People are sure that illegal immigrants from Belarus are entering the country, who are in fact fighters of the PMC Wagner," one of the users adds.

DW fact check: Unproven

Did Tokyo Billboard Show 'Stop War, Stop Zelensky'?

Did Tokyo Billboard Show ‘Stop War, Stop Zelensky’?

False. The video of the anti-Zelensky billboard in Shibuya, Japan, is fake. It was edited from a popular clip that's been on YouTube for more than two years and viewed more than eight million times. There is no evidence that any such billboard has been displayed in Shibuya, one of the busiest and most popular neighborhoods in Tokyo, Japan.

No, this video doesn’t show Ukrainian soldiers ‘giving up without a fight’

Pro-Russian social media accounts have been widely sharing a video that they claim shows Ukrainian soldiers surrendering to the Russian army en masse. The video, however, actually shows a prisoner swap between the Russian state-funded paramilitary group, the Wagner Group, and the Ukrainian army in May 2023.