Category Context

Ukraine: Russian troops flying Soviet flag, symbol of ‘re-establishing Russian domination’

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, thousands of images showing Russian soldiers and vehicles have emerged online. Some of these images shocked viewers when they saw the flag of the Soviet Union waving on some Russian military equipment. For residents of Ukraine, a former part of the Soviet Union, the flag may represent "an expression of a desire to repress them", according to a post-Soviet politics specialist who spoke to the FRANCE 24 Observers team.

Read MoreUkraine: Russian troops flying Soviet flag, symbol of ‘re-establishing Russian domination’

Pictures of Ukrainians throwing Molotov cocktails taken during anti-government protests in 2014

Social media posts shared hundreds of times show photos of people lobbing Molotov cocktails against a backdrop of flames. They claim the pictures show Ukrainians targeting Russian tanks invading the country. While Ukrainians have been making Molotov cocktails in response to the Russian invasion, the photos were taken as anti-government protests swept the capital Kyiv in 2014.

Read MorePictures of Ukrainians throwing Molotov cocktails taken during anti-government protests in 2014

Fact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war

“Maria Zakharova's claim that Ukraine started this war is false. The Russian Federation illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, sparking broad international condemnation. On February 21, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine from the north, northeast, and from the Crimean Peninsula in the south, initiating a full-scale interstate war between Russia and Ukraine”.

Read MoreFact check: Russia falsely blames Ukraine for starting war

Old image shows Ukrainians praying to mark 2014 separatist attacks, unrelated to current conflict

Facebook posts are circulating in Africa claiming to feature an image of Ukrainians kneeling and praying in the snow days before Russian troops invaded their country on February 24, 2022. In reality, the picture dates back to 2019 and shows residents of Kharkiv who had been praying every day in the city square since March 2014 when Russian separatists attacked Ukraine.

Read MoreOld image shows Ukrainians praying to mark 2014 separatist attacks, unrelated to current conflict

Posts use 2014 riot image to falsely compare Ukraine’s capital days before and after Russian invasion

Facebook posts with contrasting aerial images showing Ukraine's capital Kyiv both untouched by war and in ruins have been shared hundreds of times with the claim that the pictures show the city before and after Russia's invasion. The claim is misleading; while the first image of the city intact is fresh, the second showing devastation in the capital was taken about eight years ago during deadly protests that ushered in a change of government.

Read MorePosts use 2014 riot image to falsely compare Ukraine’s capital days before and after Russian invasion

Video footage from 2014 misleadingly cast as Russian invasion

Footage of armored vehicles set alight by Molotov cocktails on a Ukrainian street is being presented on social media as local resistance against Russia's ongoing invasion. This is false; the recording is from Ukraine, but it was shot in 2014 in Kyiv during the country's popular protest movement, when demonstrators torched the army's vehicles.

Read MoreVideo footage from 2014 misleadingly cast as Russian invasion

Fact-checking claims that NATO, US broke agreement against alliance expanding eastward

No legal agreement prohibits NATO from expanding eastward.

Russians have argued that comments made by U.S. and other Western leaders during the negotiations over the reunification of Germany constituted a promise that NATO would not extend beyond then-East Germany. Those allegations have sparked decades of debate amongst those involved in the events, and scholars studying them.

Even scholars who say they believe western powers did offer the Soviet Union assurances about NATO expansion say Owens' claim is misleading.

Our ruling
Owens said, "NATO (under direction from the United States) is violating previous agreements and expanding eastward."

There is an ongoing historical debate over comments that Western leaders, including Baker, made during post-Cold War negotiations, and whether what they said amounted to assurances that NATO would refrain from welcoming in countries closer to modern-day Russia.

But NATO as an organization made no such pledge, and the formal agreement signed at the end of those negotiations said nothing about the alliance not expanding eastward.

We rate this claim Mostly False.

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Russian spokesman’s statement ignores centuries of Russian attacks

Historians cite upwards of a dozen examples dating back to the 1500s in which Russia or the Soviet Union attacked another country without being militarily attacked first.

• Russia may offer various justifications for why it attacked another country in these instances, but each of these examples involved militarily unprovoked actions by Russia or the Soviet Union.

Our ruling
Peskov said, "Russia has never attacked anyone throughout its history."

Historians cite upwards of a dozen examples dating back to the 1500s in which Russia or the Soviet Union attacked another country without being militarily attacked first.

Russia may offer various justifications for why it attacked another country in these instances, but contrary to Peskov's statement, each of these examples did involve militarily unprovoked actions by Russia or the Soviet Union.

We rate the statement Pants on Fire.

Read MoreRussian spokesman’s statement ignores centuries of Russian attacks