A recent article talks about steps to be taken to help Ukrainian energy networks
avoid collapse in the face of relentless Russian bombardment. The author
argues that this is no less important than the supply of modern weapons.
The possibility of Ukraine becoming uninhabitable is discussed only in the
event of a complete lack of support from the West, and the total Russian
destruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
Conservative politicians and commentators claim US President Joe Biden defied his own warnings about triggering a third World War with Russia by delivering tanks to Ukraine. But the quote shared as proof has been edited to distort its meaning; Biden said in March 2022 that having "planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews" would constitute "World War III."
President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 25, 2023, that the U.S. is sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.
Earlier in the war, almost a year ago, Biden said, "The idea that we're going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews, just understand … that's called 'World War III.'"
A widely shared meme shortened Biden's quote to make it appear as if he said sending tanks alone to Ukraine would cause World War III.
A meme shared in a tweet claimed that in March, Biden said, "The idea that we're going to send in tanks to Ukraine, that's called World War III." Biden announced the U.S. will be sending M1 Abrams tanks about 10 months later.
The quote is edited to leave out the full context of Biden's comments. He said the U.S. would not be sending offensive equipment and planes, tanks and trains with U.S. pilots and crews.
We rate the claim False.
A video of a flock of birds swooping over a freeway in the US state of Texas has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in online posts that falsely claim it shows a murder of crows in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in January 2023. The claim circulated online during the 11th month of Russia's war in Ukraine.
CLAIM: Mexico is planning to soon eliminate visa requirements for Russian nationals seeking to enter the country.
AP'S ASSESSMENT: Missing context. Mexico's ambassador to Russia says discussions between the two nations about mutually dropping visa requirements have been ongoing for years, but no agreement has been finalized. Eduardo Villegas MegÃas, Mexico's ambassador to Russia, says there's been no movement in the talks as Mexico remains neutral in Russia's war in Ukraine.
An audio recording is being circulated online as "evidence" of Ukrainian
"sabotage", however the recording first surfaced online at least in 2018
when it was widely circulated in Kazakhstan.
Purported images of Polish state television have circulated on Twitter showing a national map of Poland's borders, but overpowering much of Ukraine's territory. The channel itself and the country's secretary of state have slammed this as the "Russian propaganda machine" trying to destroy Ukraine's positive relationship with Warsaw. We take a closer look in this edition of Truth or Fake, with Vedika Bahl.
Two viral videos claim to show the Jan. 18 helicopter crash that killed Ukraine's interior minister and about a dozen others. These videos weren't from the crash.
As the war in Ukraine raged on in early 2023, rumors about the country's president rage with it. From claims about his career, to rumors about illicit drug use, Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a magnet for doctored images, misinformation, and more.
Continue below for a collection of stories about the Ukraine president's history before and after the war began.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine this year kept our fact-checkers very busy. We wrote 92 articles debunking false claims about information related to the war. These ranged from claims the Bucha massacre was staged to false TV reports and accusations of Nazism among Ukrainians. To mark the end of the year, we made a list of some of our top fact-checks about Ukraine.