Category Ukraine

False subtitles added to video suggest Polish president ‘mobilises troops to enter Ukraine’

Multiple social media posts in China have shared a video alongside a claim it shows the Polish president declaring military mobilisation in support of Ukraine. Although Poland sent weapons aid to Ukraine after Russia's invasion, misleading Chinese-language subtitles have been added to the clip to suggest it was sending troops to war. The Polish defence ministry dismissed the claim. As of May 26, AFP found no official reports that Poland was sending troops to Ukraine.

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Picture does not show decorated officer among Russian prisoners

Social media users shared a photo claiming to show that a senior US military commander was among captives when Ukrainian soldiers defending the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol surrendered to Russian troops in May. But the claim is false; retired Admiral Eric Olson confirmed to AFP that he was not in Ukraine, and the photo appeared in Russian media a month before the surrender.

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Fake: Zaporizhzhia Rules Out Returning to Kyiv Control

Vladimir Rogov is not an official in any Zaporizhzhia administration, his statements are pure propaganda and carry no political weight. In March 2022 Ukrainian police opened a criminal case into Rogov's collaborationist activities. Part of Zaporizhzhia province is under Russian occupation, hostilities are continuing there, and Russian invaders systematically violate the rights of local residents, they impede free movement and are creating a humanitarian crisis.

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Fake: Erdogan Says Turkey Unwilling to Get Involved in “Ukraine show”

Russian media distorted the "quote" attributed to the Turkish president, and the words about the "show" were taken out of context. President Erdogan has consistently said that Turkey opposes encroachments on the territorial integrity of Ukraine and is trying to do everything to bring the parties to a peace agreement.

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Did Russian soldiers really burn Ukrainian history books?

Politicians and experts shared a photo of burning books on May 21, claiming that the Russian army had begun getting rid of Ukrainian books in occupied areas. While Ukrainian authorities have reported cases of Russian soldiers destroying books, the photo actually shows a book burning organised by pro-Russian protesters in Crimea in 2010.

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This clip does not show Russian missiles in Ukraine — it was taken from a video game

A video has been viewed thousands of times in multiple Facebook and Weibo posts alongside a claim it shows Russian troops blowing up a military convoy carrying US-supplied weapons to Ukraine. However, the claim is false; the clip in fact shows computer-generated imagery from a war video game called ARMA 3.

Read MoreThis clip does not show Russian missiles in Ukraine — it was taken from a video game