Fact checks: from across the internet
Ukraine Fact Check presents fact checks on Ukraine in two different ways. Our team works to:
1. index and tag existing fact-check articles from reputable sources from across the internet;
2. compile and publish original fact check articles, based our team’s own research into a subject.
Below, you can find the fact-check articles published by other websites across the internet.
Disclaimer: Ukraine Fact Check was not involved in producing the articles listed below. The information presented in them may be incorrect, incomplete, or misleading. As with any other type of article, read with a critical eye, check sources, and seek other opinions before making up your mind on important topics.
US President Trump’s claims about Zelenskyy and Ukraine fact-checked
Claim: Zelenskyy started the war with Russia
Claim: Zelenskyy is a dictator
Claim: Zelenskyy has a 4 percent approval rating
Claim: The US has spent $350bn to help Ukraine
Claim: Zelenskyy said he doesn’t know where half of the money the US has given Ukraine went
Claim: Zelenskyy was ‘sleeping and unavailable’ to meet Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week in Kyiv
Fake: Russia Shot Down Its Own Drones Over Ukraine After Trump’s Conversation with Putin
Despite the unsubstantiated statements of the Russian Defen?e Ministry, Russia continued shelling Ukraine even after the US President talked on the phone with the Kremlin leader. Energy infrastructure in the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions was shelled. In total on the night of March 18-19, 2025, 2 Iskander-M ballistic missiles and four S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles, as well as 145 Shahed strike UAVs were launched over Ukraine.
Video does not show Ukrainian soldier recording last moments before airstrike
The Verdict False.
The viral video is a clip from a music video by a Ukrainian combat medic who goes by the call sign ‘Vitsik’ and an artist called Misha Scorpion.
Video of Mark Rubio threatening to ‘cut off Ukraine’s Starlink access’ is edited
The Verdict: Fake.
Comparing the original CNN video with the viral clip shows that AI audio was inserted to falsely portray Rubio threatening to cut Starlink to Ukraine.
How many times has Vladimir Putin broken ceasefire agreements with Ukraine?
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says Vladimir Putin has broken 25 peace agreements in the past decade
Fake: Zelenskyy Secretly Signed 100-year Resource Deal with UK, Deceived US
The 100-year partnership agreement between Ukraine and the UK was never “secret”. The text of this document is easily available in open sources. Moreover, there is nothing in it that contradicts the agreement between Ukraine and the US on rare earth metals. Additionally, it was the US and the Trump administration, not Ukraine, that initiated the signing of the bilateral metals agreement – several weeks after the deal between Kyiv and London. Thus, neither Ukraine nor Zelenskyy “deceived” America; rather, the United States itself proposed such a deal and its terms to Ukraine.
Was Zelenskyy’s Pennsylvania visit ‘election interference’? Why experts say no
On Sept. 22, 2024, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a Scranton, Pennsylvania, ammunition plant to thank its workers, with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was a surrogate for vice president and then-Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
Legal experts said that doesn’t constitute “foreign election interference,” which typically includes “covert, fraudulent or deceptive acts.”
Zelenskyy’s meeting with Shapiro was not a campaign event for either the governor or Harris.
FACT CHECK: No, Outlet Did Not Report 70,000 Ukrainian Troops Died In Kursk
Verdict: False.
There is no evidence that this outlet reported this. There is no evidence that 70,000 Ukrainian troops died in the Kursk offensive.
Supposed Hull Daily Mail headline about Ukrainian casualties in Kursk is fake
The Verdict: Fake.
The headline is fabricated. The Hull Daily Mail published a different front page on March 13.
PTI Fact Check: 2022 video of Ukrainian marines surrendering in Mariupol falsely shared as recent incident from Kursk region of Russia
A video featuring people in military uniforms walking on a landscape with their hands in the air was recently shared on social media. Those sharing the video claimed that the Ukrainian army surrendered in the Kursk region of Russia.
However, the PTI Fact Check investigated and found that the viral video dates back to 2022 when the Ukrainian marines surrendered in Mariupol and is unrelated to the ongoing conflict in the Kursk region.
Fact Check: Edited Image Shows European Leaders Taking Off Their Suit Coats In Support Of Ukraine — No Actual Video
Does a viral image authentically show European leaders taking off their suit coats in support of Ukraine during a group picture? No, that’s not true: The image is likely a screenshot from a video that was digitally edited, possibly using AI. Actual footage of the moment the group picture was taken did not show anyone taking off their suit and no news outlets reported about it happening at the time.
2022 Video of Mariupol Surrender Misattributed to Kursk Events
Misbar investigated the circulating video and found the claim to be misleading.
Misbar’s team found that the video shows Ukrainian marines surrendering in Mariupol in 2022 and is not related to the ongoing events in the Kursk region.
Video of Ukrainian flag on Statue of Liberty is fake
What was claimed: A video shows the Ukrainian flag being flown from the top of the Statue of Liberty.
Our verdict: This is not a real video. A watermark in the bottom right corner suggests it was made by OpenAI’s text-to-video artificial intelligence model, Sora.
Photo of Zelenskyy wearing a suit when meeting WEF leader predates Ukraine war
What was claimed:
A photo shows President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently wearing a suit to meet WEF founder Klaus Schwab because he is his “actual boss”, amid criticism Mr Zelenskyy received for not wearing one to meet President Trump.
Our verdict:
This photo shows the two men in suits in 2020, before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after which President Zelenskyy stopped wearing suits publicly.
Old video shared as recent footage of Ukrainian troops ‘surrendering’ in Kursk
What was claimed: A video shows Ukrainian troops surrendering in the Kursk region on 11 March 2025.
Our verdict: The clip predates this and has been shared online since at least April 2022.
No, Russia Has Not Surrounded Thousands Of Ukrainian Troops In Kursk
“I have strongly requested to President Putin that their lives be spared,” Trump wrote.
But there aren’t thousands of Ukrainian troops in Kursk any longer. They left days ago, despite what Putin may claim. “It’s wise to rely on intelligence,” Tatarigami advised, “not Putin’s word.”
InfoWars reporter Jamie White, who was fatally shot, was not on Ukrainian enemies list
After InfoWars reporter Jamie White was fatally shot March 10 in Austin, Texas, police said they believe the suspects were burglarizing White’s car when White interrupted them.
White is not on a Ukrainian enemies list. In June 2024, Texty.org.ua, an independent Ukrainian media outlet, shared online a list of research subjects as part of its analysis of rhetoric opposing Ukrainian aid. White was among the people whose statements were analyzed.
Texty did not refer to White as an “enemy” of Ukraine, nor did the outlet call for him to be harmed or killed.
Trump falsely claimed US spent $350B on military aid to Ukraine
Claim: As of February 2025, the United States had given $350 billion in military aid to Ukraine for its war with Russia.
Rating: False.
Context
It’s possible to arrive at varying totals depending on how military aid is defined or by considering how much money was allocated – as opposed to actually paid out – by the U.S. government, but none of these totals amounts to $350 billion
Fact Check: Video Of Putin Speaking About Russian Terms For Ceasefire Is NOT From 2025
Did a video circulating on social media show Russian President Vladimir Putin making a public statement about Russia’s terms for a ceasefire in Ukraine in March 2025? No, that’s not true: The clip had been online for nine months. It showed Putin’s remarks from June 2024.