Category Minorities in Ukraine

Fake: Five Years Ago, Russian Language was Banned in Ukraine and Linguistic Genocide Has Began

The legislation in Ukraine regulating the use of the Ukrainian language does not apply to personal communication or religion, and does not provide for any criminal liability for violations of its norms, "language patrols" or "language inspectors", as propaganda claims. Ukrainians themselves do not see any harassment of Russian-speaking Ukrainians, as evidenced by the results of opinion polls.
Read MoreFake: Five Years Ago, Russian Language was Banned in Ukraine and Linguistic Genocide Has Began
Article screenshot. Title: Romani Ukrainian activist: Russia is deceptively accusing Ukraine of Nazism, Romani people from Russia should at least stay neutral

Romani Ukrainian activist: Russia is deceptively accusing Ukraine of Nazism, Romani people from Russia should at least stay neutral

Russia is deceptively accusing Ukraine of Nazism and exploiting Romani-related subjects to do so. Natali Tomenko, a Romani activist from Ukraine, gave that assessment at a meeting on 30 March held under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Read MoreRomani Ukrainian activist: Russia is deceptively accusing Ukraine of Nazism, Romani people from Russia should at least stay neutral

Did Polish police open fire on African refugees fleeing Ukraine? – Fact or Fake

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, over 7 million people have fled the country. Multiple reports have outlined the specific difficulties that African refugees faced as they attempted to cross the Polish border and enter the European Union. Georgina Robertson and Sophie Samaille take a look at a Facebook post falsely claiming that refugees from Africa were shot at by Polish police.
Read MoreDid Polish police open fire on African refugees fleeing Ukraine? – Fact or Fake

No, the Ukrainian colors were not added to an official pride flag

An image of a flag that incorporated the Ukrainian colors originated as satire. This particular image isn't affiliated with any official LGBTQ organizations. Snopes reported that Dublin's LGBTQ Pride Festival designed a flyer that used a different image of a flag that incorporated Ukrainian colors as a signal of welcome displaced Ukrainian refugees. Our ruling Greene and others shared an image that showed the pride flag altered to incorporate the colors of the Ukrainian flag as if it were real. This isn't a genuine flag used by the LGBTQ community. It originated as satire. We rate this False
Read MoreNo, the Ukrainian colors were not added to an official pride flag

J.D. Vance says transgender rights drives looming conflict in Ukraine

Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance said the State Department's focus on transgender rights is inflaming the conflict with Russia in Ukraine. Russia has placed as many as 150,000 troops near Ukraine's borders. Russia has said Ukraine's ties to NATO are a key threat to Russia's national security. Our ruling Vance said that Biden risks war with Russia because Putin doesn't "believe in transgender rights." There is a risk of war, but it is because of Russia's focus on Ukraine's ties to the west and the buildup of Russian forces along Ukraine's border. The State Department noted the threats against transgender people as one issue among many in a report on human rights. It gave much more space to the danger posed by Russia's military policies in its most recent annual threat assessment. The risk of war in Ukraine is not affected by Putin's attitude toward transgender rights. We rate this claim Pants on Fire. Update: This story has been updated to include a response we received from the Vance campaign shortly after initial publication.
Read MoreJ.D. Vance says transgender rights drives looming conflict in Ukraine