A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times on Facebook alongside a claim it shows Russia bombing Ukraine. The video was shared shortly after Russian forces invaded the neighbouring country. But the video has been shared in a false context: it is actually an animation clip that has circulated online since at least October 2021.
Russian state media says the missile can destroy an area the size of Texas or France, not the world. We could not find more objective reports detailing the same destructive power.
"Individual warheads would strike distinct targets within a very limited ballistic 'footprint,' or many warheads from the same missile would strike the same target, increasing the likelihood of destroying that target completely," according to a 2021 report from EurAsian Times.
The weapon is believed to be able to evade missile defense systems and its deployment is expected around 2022, said a March 1 Congressional Research Service report.
We rate the claim that a Russian nuclear weapon dubbed Satan 2 is "capable of destroying everything breathing in the world" False.
Social media posts claim CNN lied to the public by tweeting that a man was the first US casualty in Ukraine after previously featuring the same photo in a post about his execution in Afghanistan. This is false; the network says the tweets are not from its official accounts, and the man pictured is a YouTube video game commentator who continues to livestream on the platform.
As Russia pressed on with its invasion of Ukraine, a video clip was viewed thousands of times in Facebook and YouTube posts that claimed it showed live footage of the fighting. In reality, the footage was taken from a combat video game called ARMA 3.
On Twitter, videos from February 25 showing a military tank running over a car in the Obolon district of Ukraine's capital city Kyiv have garnered over ten million views. But contrary to what some users claim, this is not a Russian tank deliberately running over a civilian. There are many indications that the incident actually involved a Ukrainian tank.
False and misleading information about the Russian invasion of Ukraine has spread rapidly on social media since Russian forces launched a military assault in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 24.
Here’s a roundup of claims related to the Ukraine-Russia conflict analyzed by the USA TODAY Fact Check team.
British website The Telegraph is reporting that Russia is using mobile crematoriums in Ukraine in bid to hide its losses. But the accompanying video footage of a crematorium actually dates from 2013. It was posted by a Russian incinerator construction company and is not footage from the ground. The use of mobile crematoriums by Russians during the current war in Ukraine is yet to be verified. We tell you more in this edition.
The viral image of children waving off troops dates back to 2016. It does not depict the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Our ruling
Social media posts claim that a viral image, which shows two young children holding hands and saluting troops, was captured in Ukraine in 2022. But the photo traces back to 2016.
We rate these posts False.
Social media posts feature an alleged CNN tweet that claims American actor Steven Seagal took up arms alongside Russian special forces in Ukraine. But CNN said the tweet -- which includes an image of Seagal in fatigues and carrying a weapon -- is fake, and his representatives also rejected the claim, saying the actor wants peace for both countries.
5 fakes of the war in Ukraine including:
#1. "Celebrating the war". Video claims to show Russian soldiers dancing before heading to the frontline in Ukraine. In reality, dancing was in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
#2. "Russian jets launching attacks" - False. Video is from video game "Arma-3".
#3. "Formation of jets over an urban areas" - Not from war in Ukraine. Video is from a 2020 Moscow air show.
#4. "German news shows hundreds of Russian soldiers allegedly parachuting over the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv" - False. Old video from Russia (2016).