Fact check: ‘Staging’ of air attack victims in Kyiv?
After the rockets comes the propaganda - pro-Russian voices have claimed that wounded people in Kyiv were just actors staging their suffering. But a DW fact check shows that the victims are real.
Category War crimes
Read MoreFact check: ‘Staging’ of air attack victims in Kyiv?
Debunking claims that Izium mass graves are Ukrainian propaganda – Truth or Fake
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.
Video shows Putin’s face superimposed on exiled tycoon’s body for anti-Kremlin film promo
Footage that appears to show Russian President Vladimir Putin behind bars has surfaced in social media posts claiming he was arrested on terrorism charges. However, the clip has been doctored to superimpose Putin's face onto that of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an oil tycoon who spent a decade in jail. The altered video was originally published to promote a documentary that accused Russian authorities of orchestrating a series of apartment block bombings in 1999.
Debunking claims that Ukraine is staging Russian war crimes – Truth or Fake
A video from a film production in Ukraine has been widely shared on social media. Pro-Kremlin users falsely claim the video is evidence that Ukraine is staging Russian atrocities. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
Fact check: Putin’s lie about Ukraine war
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.
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.
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."
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.
No, a photo of burning books was not taken during current war in Ukraine
Photo claiming to show burning Ukrainian history books isn't from the current war with Russia. It actually dates back to March 2010.
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.