Category War crimes

AFP photo from West Bank falsely shared as ‘Ukrainian child throwing stones at Russian tank’

A photo of a child throwing a stone at a tank has been shared repeatedly in Chinese-language posts on Twitter, Facebook, and Weibo alongside a claim it shows the Ukrainian resistance against Russia's invasion. This is false: the photo was taken by an AFP journalist in 2002 and actually shows a Palestinian child throwing a stone at an Israeli tank.

Read MoreAFP photo from West Bank falsely shared as ‘Ukrainian child throwing stones at Russian tank’

No, Putin didn’t free 35,000 children from Ukraine

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!

Read MoreNo, Putin didn’t free 35,000 children from Ukraine

No evidence that Ukraine attacked a train station in one of its cities

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.

Read MoreNo evidence that Ukraine attacked a train station in one of its cities

Fake: Atrocities in Bucha, Chemical Attack in Syria, and the Work of White Helmets…

Atrocities committed by the Russian military in Bucha, Kyiv region are confirmed not only by Ukrainian authorities but also by governments of other countries and international organizations. Out of 519 cases of reported chemical weapons use in Syria, 349 have been "credibly confirmed".

Read MoreFake: Atrocities in Bucha, Chemical Attack in Syria, and the Work of White Helmets…

No, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros are not related – Africa Check

As a number of other fact-checking organisations have made clear, there is no evidence that Soros and Zelenskyy are cousins or that a spokesperson from the DOD confirmed this.

We could also find no evidence of any statement mentioning the two men in the DOD's press releases or on its social media accounts.

Read MoreNo, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros are not related – Africa Check

‘Old footage’ of ‘Ukrainian Nazis’ murdering ‘Chechnya Muslims’? No, video from 2014 war movie – Africa Check

None of this is true. The video is a work of fiction and the people in it are actors. The video is related to war in Chechnya, but only because it's a clip from The Search (2014), a war drama written and directed by French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius. The Search is fiction, though set in a real war. But it's worth pointing out that right at the beginning it specifically identifies the men who kill the man and woman as Russian soldiers.

And the caption's claim that "Ukrainian Nazis once upon a time invaded Chechnya" is incorrect.

Read More‘Old footage’ of ‘Ukrainian Nazis’ murdering ‘Chechnya Muslims’? No, video from 2014 war movie – Africa Check

Disinformation: Russia presented specific evidence to the UN on crimes committed by the Ukrainian authorities against their own citizens in Bucha

Therefore, the Kremlin’s claim that they presented a set of evidence to the UN which proves Ukraine’s crimes in Bucha is fake. That which the Russian Ambassador presented at a special press conference and the UN Security Council are impossible to be considered as “evidence.” Most of them are easily verifiable false claims and the rest is absurd allegations which are not considered as evidence in any format.

Read MoreDisinformation: Russia presented specific evidence to the UN on crimes committed by the Ukrainian authorities against their own citizens in Bucha

Fake: International Organizations Don’t Want to Investigate Bucha Atrocities

Amnesty International and many international organizations as well as representatives from various countries have expressed the need to investigate war crimes in the Kyiv region committed by Russian troops. Hundreds of journalists from all over the world and EU representatives have visited the towns where the atrocities were committed, international human rights activists, foreign forensics experts and representatives of the International Criminal Court are all collecting evidence of crimes committed.

Read MoreFake: International Organizations Don’t Want to Investigate Bucha Atrocities
Massacre in Bucha: refuting Russian propaganda fakes

Massacre in Bucha: refuting Russian propaganda fakes

Bodies everywhere: on the roads, on the side of the road, and in makeshift mass graves. That's how you can describe photos and videos from the Ukrainian town of Bucha, located very close to Kyiv. The images were seen by people around the world and shocked many. Russia, which was in control of the town, is trying to prove that its troops had nothing to do with it. They use the usual disinformation tactics: they launch several false theses at once in order to confuse everyone as much as possible.

Euroradio refutes Russian propagandists' fakes about the massacre in Bucha.

Read MoreMassacre in Bucha: refuting Russian propaganda fakes