Pro-Russian accounts on social media are falsely claiming that certain civilian graves found in Izium date from before the Russian occupation. In this edition of Truth or Fake, we debunk claims that the graves were staged by Ukrainian authorities.
The Russian ministry of defence has released a video claiming its forces have struck an "amphibious" Ukrainian vehicle near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. However, by geolocating the alleged target from the footage, we discovered it is in fact the remnants of a bridge built during World War II. We explain the details in this edition of Truth or Fake with Vedika Bahl.
Global media outlets widely shared a video they attributed to Russian state energy company Gazprom in articles published on September 6, 2022. The video, which was circulated online by pro-Russian users, showed the company halting its flow of natural gas to Europe. However, our journalists investigated the origins of the video and discovered that it likely wasn't made by Gazprom.
Russia has lost as many as 25,000 soldiers in its invasion of Ukraine, with tens of thousands more injured, according to estimates from U.K. and U.S. officials.
Russia's economy will contract as much as 6% this year mostly because of international sanctions, the country's central bank predicted.
Thousands of educated professionals have fled the nation after the war began, according to news reports.
Our ruling
Putin stated that Russia has lost nothing since the country invaded neighboring Ukraine in February.
Russia has suffered many losses. As many as 25,000 Russian soldiers are estimated to have died. Indicators from within Russia show the Russian economy has been damaged by international sanctions resulting from the war. And experts say thousands of Russians from many professional backgrounds, including tech and academia, have fled the nation.
We rate Putin's claim False.
A video from a film production in Ukraine has been widely shared on social media. Pro-Kremlin users falsely claim the video is evidence that Ukraine is staging Russian atrocities. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
The website looks authentic, but it isn't. Fake news sites showing well-known media brand names are acting as vehicles for Russian propaganda, among other things.
The map featured in the video is falsified. StopFake did not find the images shown in the video in the original historical map of Ukraine published by the Kartohrafiya publishing house. StopFake visited the Kartohrafiya publishing shop, where the consultant assured that the new edition is no different from last year's. After reviewing the latest edition of the mentioned outline map, it is clear that the video circulating online is fake. In the original outline map, which is issued under ISBN 978-966-946-460-6, StopFake did not find the images shown in the video, or those on which the Ukrainian state border is drawn incorrectly.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces did not shell the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the city of Enerhodar. An analysis of missile trajectories and the nature of the damage confirms that strikes were carried out from the territories controlled by Russian occupation troops. The Russian propaganda video shows footage of another facility, the Zaporizhzhia thermal power station, which is about 7 kilometres away from the nuclear facility and which stopped operating back in May due to a shortage of coal.
Ukraine's Defense Ministry denies the Russian media claims about a "secret document". The fact that the "document" is a forgery is confirmed by a number of gross errors both in the text and the document design.
Without additional context, a video being shared online of Poles in a soup kitchen misleads viewers. The events took place in a World Central Kitchen canteen, which provides targeted temporary assistance to people affected by the war in Ukraine. Additionally, a certain number of places in this canteen are reserved for Poles in need of support. Just as before, low-income Poles can receive help at municipal homeless assistance centers.