Category Fact checks / debunkings

‘Old footage’ of ‘Ukrainian Nazis’ murdering ‘Chechnya Muslims’? No, video from 2014 war movie – Africa Check

None of this is true. The video is a work of fiction and the people in it are actors. The video is related to war in Chechnya, but only because it's a clip from The Search (2014), a war drama written and directed by French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius. The Search is fiction, though set in a real war. But it's worth pointing out that right at the beginning it specifically identifies the men who kill the man and woman as Russian soldiers.

And the caption's claim that "Ukrainian Nazis once upon a time invaded Chechnya" is incorrect.

Read More‘Old footage’ of ‘Ukrainian Nazis’ murdering ‘Chechnya Muslims’? No, video from 2014 war movie – Africa Check

Disinformation: Russia presented specific evidence to the UN on crimes committed by the Ukrainian authorities against their own citizens in Bucha

Therefore, the Kremlin’s claim that they presented a set of evidence to the UN which proves Ukraine’s crimes in Bucha is fake. That which the Russian Ambassador presented at a special press conference and the UN Security Council are impossible to be considered as “evidence.” Most of them are easily verifiable false claims and the rest is absurd allegations which are not considered as evidence in any format.

Read MoreDisinformation: Russia presented specific evidence to the UN on crimes committed by the Ukrainian authorities against their own citizens in Bucha

Fake: Ukraine Refuses to Finance Kharkiv, Kyiv Resigned to Russia’s Occupation of City

Ukraine is not compromising its territorial integrity and sovereignty. The first billion hryvni of financial assistance released for the regions liberated from Russian occupation does not include the Kharkiv region because intensive hostilities are continuing in this northeastern part of Ukraine's territory. Part of the Kharkiv region is still under Russian occupation. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that after all Ukrainian lands currently occupied by Russian troops are liberated, reconstruction work will begin immediately.

Read MoreFake: Ukraine Refuses to Finance Kharkiv, Kyiv Resigned to Russia’s Occupation of City

Fake: International Organizations Don’t Want to Investigate Bucha Atrocities

Amnesty International and many international organizations as well as representatives from various countries have expressed the need to investigate war crimes in the Kyiv region committed by Russian troops. Hundreds of journalists from all over the world and EU representatives have visited the towns where the atrocities were committed, international human rights activists, foreign forensics experts and representatives of the International Criminal Court are all collecting evidence of crimes committed.

Read MoreFake: International Organizations Don’t Want to Investigate Bucha Atrocities

Fake: Ukrainian Troops Blow Up Nitric Acid Tanks in Rubizhne

Contrary to Russian disinformation reports, the Ukrainian military did not blow up a nitric acid tank in Rubizhne, Luhansk province on April 9. According to Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai, Russian troops had already twice blown up a nitric acid tank in Rubizhne. Blowing up its own chemical storage facility does not give the Ukrainian military any tactical advantage. The Ukrainian army has no plans to abandon its positions and leave Rubizhne.

Read MoreFake: Ukrainian Troops Blow Up Nitric Acid Tanks in Rubizhne

Fake: Borrell for Resolving Conflict in Ukraine Militarily

Josep Borrell is proposing tougher sanctions to pressure Russia to stop its war crimes in Ukraine. He sees increased weapons supplies to Ukraine as a way of helping Kyiv protect its territory and its people from Russian army attacks and notes that Ukraine will definitely prevail.

Read MoreFake: Borrell for Resolving Conflict in Ukraine Militarily