Category War crimes

Fake: Ukrainian Military Shell Olenivka with HIMARS on President Zelensky’s Orders

Ukrainian prisoners of war held in a detention center in Russian occupied Olenivka in eastern Ukraine could not have been fired upon from the Ukrainian side. Facts available in the public domain, international experts' conclusions, the interceptions of Russian military conversations, all show that the Ukrainian military did not fire on the Russian prison camp where Russian invaders were keeping Ukrainian Azovstal defenders.

Read MoreFake: Ukrainian Military Shell Olenivka with HIMARS on President Zelensky’s Orders

This visual effects video does not show ‘Russia’s vacuum bomb attack in Ukraine’

A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times in multiple social media posts that claim it shows Russia attacking Ukraine with a vacuum bomb in 2022. The claim, however, is false. Although Russia has been accused of using such weapons in Ukraine, the video in fact is a digital creation of a visual effects artist.

Read MoreThis visual effects video does not show ‘Russia’s vacuum bomb attack in Ukraine’

How the Frenchman Adrien Bocquet Whitewashed Russian War Crimes in Bucha

During the second half of April 2022, when Bocquet claimed to be in Ukraine, military operations were no longer taking place in Bucha, nor were any Russian soldiers being taken prisoner. The town was occupied by Russian troops from the end of February to April 1. That evening saw the first reports with videos showing dead bodies on its streets. That is, Adrien Bocquet could not have been in Bucha to observe "neo-Nazis committing war crimes."

Read MoreHow the Frenchman Adrien Bocquet Whitewashed Russian War Crimes in Bucha

Russian has not been banned in Ukraine, despite repeated claims

Ukraine has not banned the use of the Russian language in the country.

A 2019 law established Ukrainian as the official language of Ukraine and strengthened its use in businesses, schools and the media.

Our ruling
Lavrov referenced the banning and prohibition of Russian in Ukraine, particularly in "education, the media, everyday contacts," during a press conference.

Despite a language law that establishes Ukrainian as the country's official language and prioritizes its use in civil society, Russian has not been banned.

We rate Lavrov's statement False.

Read MoreRussian has not been banned in Ukraine, despite repeated claims

Fake: Ukrainian Nationalists Shelling Kherson

The Ukrainian army is not shelling temporarily occupied Kherson. Information about powerful explosions in the city center on May 12 were not confirmed by local media nor was any evidence of such explosions provided by Russian journalists or authorities. The Russian invading army continues to shell the Kherson region with phosphorous shells and it continues shooting at convoys of civilians trying to leave the occupied territories.

Read MoreFake: Ukrainian Nationalists Shelling Kherson

Undamaged windows are not evidence of staged Ukraine violence

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.

Read MoreUndamaged windows are not evidence of staged Ukraine violence

Video of mannequin shows TV drama, not Ukraine ‘faking dead bodies’ in Bucha

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.

Read MoreVideo of mannequin shows TV drama, not Ukraine ‘faking dead bodies’ in Bucha