Pro-Russian accounts on social media are falsely claiming that certain civilian graves found in Izium date from before the Russian occupation. In this edition of Truth or Fake, we debunk claims that the graves were staged by Ukrainian authorities.
Russian media are interpreting routine clinical trials of high blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis drugs as an evil experiment on Ukrainian citizens. In these phase II drug effectiveness clinical studies, the trial participants were taking an already well-studied, potentially effective drug to treat their ailments. The clinical trials that Russian media are raising an alarm about are mentioned in published documents and are not a secret - they have passed all stages of verification and were carried out under the supervision of the Ukrainian Health Ministry's State Expert Center. Information about the drugs and the trials can be found on the Ministry of Health State Expert Center website Information on clinical trials in Ukraine.
Russian media claims that the European Parliament found no evidence that Russia sponsors terrorism is the opinion of only one parliamentarian - Gunnar Beck, a member of the pro-Russian Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany) party. Beck however did not say anything about the European Parliament and its decisions regarding Russia and terrorism.
Oleksiy Vadaturskyi, the founder and CEO of Nibulon, one of the largest Ukrainian agriculture companies, was killed along with his wife on July 31 during the massive shelling of Mykolayiv by Russian invaders. One of the 50 rockets that Russia fired at the city that night hit his home. Ukraine's Prosecutor General opened an investigation into his killing, one line of investigation being pursued is Vadaturskyi's home was targeted intentionally.
Thousands of Ukrainians have been killed in Russian rocket attacks since February 24. Still, Vladimir Putin claims his soldiers don't attack civilian targets. The facts show quite the opposite.
Social media posts claim a photo shows cars damaged by a Russian bomb near a building with intact windows in Bucha, suggesting it proves violence in the Ukrainian town was staged. But there is no evidence of a strike near the building, and residents said military vehicles were used to upend the cars -- accounts confirmed by media reports and other images from the town.
Footage of two men handling a mannequin is circulating in social media posts that claim it shows a "prop" passed off as a dead body in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, where dozens of corpses were discovered in April after Russian forces retreated. In fact, the video -- viewed hundreds of thousands of times -- was not filmed in Bucha. It was recorded for a Russian TV drama in Vsevolozhsk near Saint Petersburg on March 20, 2022.
A video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in social media posts that claim it is a report from the BBC that states Ukraine was responsible for a deadly missile attack on a train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk. The British broadcaster's press team said it did not produce the "fake" video and was "taking action" to get it removed from social media. AFP identified various visual features in the video that indicated it has been fabricated to imitate a report from the BBC.
This unfounded claim originated on a website known for publishing misinformation.
Putin has freed 35,000 children in Ukraine, a country he's invaded, or anywhere else. There are no credible sources nor news reports to support this.
Searching for evidence that Putin saved thousands of children, we only found articles reporting that Russian police jailed several children for leaving flowers at Ukraine's embassy in Moscow.
We rate this post Pants on Fire!
There's no credible evidence that Ukraine was behind the April 8 attack at the Kramatorsk train station. A video used to bolster this claim is fake ' it did not come from the BBC.
The claim has largely been spread by pro-Kremlin accounts following reports of civilian casualties and contradict earlier Russian posts that initially took credit for the bombing.
The Tochka-U missile used in the attack, and the serial number on it, isn't proof that it came from the Ukrainian army. Several news reports, legitimate photos and videos show that Russia has used these missile systems recently.
Our ruling
Facebook posts claim that Ukraine was responsible for the Kramatorsk train station bombing.
A video used to bolster this rumor is fake. Although the video has a BBC logo, it was not produced by the news organization.
There's no credible evidence that Ukraine was behind the attack.
The Tochka missile used in the attack, and the serial number on it, isn't proof that it came from the Ukrainian army. Several news reports, legitimate photos and videos show that Russia has used these missile systems recently. The rumors that Ukraine attacked the train station have largely been spread by pro-Kremlin social media accounts.
We rate this claim False.