FACT CHECK: IMAGE CLAIMS UKRAINIANS HIT SU-57 DECOY
Verdict: False
The satellite image is from June 7, while the attack was on June 8. The person who obtained the image also refuted the claim.
Category Ukraine
No, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy did not buy a casino resort in Cyprus
The Verdict: False
There is no evidence that President Zelenskyy bought a casino in Cyprus; the claim originated from a fake website impersonating the resort.
No, this video doesn’t show a Russian air strike on a NATO arms convoy
A video of a massive fire circulated widely on social media in late April along with captions claiming it showed a strike by the Russian army on a NATO weapons convoy en route to Ukraine. However, it turns out that this is an old video that wasn't filmed anywhere near Ukraine.
DISINFORMATION ABOUT ZELENSKYY BUYING A £150 MILLION VILLA IN CYPRUS
The information about the purchase of a hotel is disinformation. The President of Cyprus, the Ukrainian Embassy in Cyprus, and the company that owns the hotel have denied the allegation about the purchase of the hotel by Zelenskyy or a related company. Moreover, the website on which the allegation about Zelenskyy's connection to the hotel appeared turned out to be a clone of the hotel's website and a fake website that was created three days before the information was spread.
Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy Bought a Casino in Cyprus?
The claim that Zelenskyy purchased a casino in Cyprus is belied by the fact that the owners of that casino say they have not sold it, by the fact that the original reporting on the claim was based on a fake website, and by the fact that this original reporting was deleted. Because no real evidence supports the claim, Snopes rates it "False."
DISINFO: Ukrainian woman influenced the attempt on the Slovak PM Robert Fico’s life
False information about the assassination attempt on Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on 26 May 2024 attempting to smear Ukraine.
The suspect, Juraj Cintula, does not have a wife from Ukraine. The Slovak police have refuted these rumours and called them false.
DISINFO: Russia destroyed a military store and command post in Kharkiv
A conspiracy theory being used as a justification for a potential war crime, accusing Ukraine of using its population as human shields.
There is no evidence to support the thesis that a military store and command post were hidden inside the shopping centre. Instead, all indications point to Russia deliberately attacking civilians using two guided bombs. Some videos show a strong fire and detonations inside the burning premises. However, all shopping centres containing construction materials and pressurised containers can burn intensely and have explosions inside. This does not prove that a command post or weapons storage was hidden inside.
DISINFO: Europe opposes Georgian foreign agent law because it is a paradise of corruption
This is a pro-Kremlin recurrent narrative about the alleged corruption and opacity of the West, purportedly needed by the globalist elites, contrasted with the transparency and probity of the multipolar world. In this instance, the narrative applies to the controversial new Georgian law on "transparency of foreign influence," which is inspired by similar measures in Russia.
The new law requires news media and non-governmental organisations that receive more than 20% of their budget from abroad to register as "carrying out the interests of a foreign power." Opponents denounce it as "the Russian law" because it resembles measures pushed through by the Kremlin. Since 2012, the Russian opposition, NGOs, and civil society as a whole have been diminished due to this legislative tool, which was progressively implemented.
DISINFO: “Peace” conference in Switzerland a propaganda exercise to cover up Zelenskyy’s illegitimacy
This is a pre-emptive attempt to discredit the peace summit which Switzerland will host on 15-16 June 2024, mixed with pro-Kremlin narratives questioning the legitimacy of Ukrainian authorities and specifically president Volodymyr Zelenskyy -frequent targets of pro-Kremlin disinformation- and falsely portraying Ukraine's Maidan protests as a coup d'etat.
These disinformation narratives are being pushed again to challenge Zelenskyy's legitimacy. However, the Ukrainian Constitution is straightforward: the President of Ukraine exercises his powers until the assumption of office by the newly-elected President. The continuity of government institutions is one of the key principles of the Constitution. Ukraine's constitution clearly stipulates that no elections can be held during wartime. While this situation has caused some domestic controversy in Ukraine, almost all observers consider regular elections unfeasible as there are millions of refugees abroad, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians serving on the frontlines and a significant part of Ukrainian population lives under Russian occupation.
DISINFO: Support for Zelensky below 20 percent among Ukrainians
No evidence is provided to support these claims. These figures were presented by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service and are almost certainly made up. Multiple reputable surveys have rated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's approval at 81% in October 2023 (Gallup), at 62% in December 2023 (Kyiv International Institute of Sociology), at 60% in February 2024 (Kyiv International Institute of Sociology), and at 63% in April 2024 (USAID), numbers quite far away from the claims made by Russian media.