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.
DISINFO: Elections are fair in Russia: the opposition is free to run for the presidency
The assertion that Vladimir Putin’s 24-year rule represents a triumph for democracy is misleading, especially considering that no other candidate has a realistic opportunity to challenge him in the elections. It is also crucial to note the incarceration of election observers, such as Golos co-chairman Grigory Melkonyants and the jailing of political opponents under harsh conditions.
DISINFO: Grain dispute signals that Poland’s plans to take over Ukraine are underway
This statement is a manipulation around the protests of EU farmers and discussions about limiting the exports of Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU, aiming to promote the recurring disinformation narrative that attributes aggressive and imperial intentions to Poland.
DISINFO: ICC falsely claims Russia strikes civilian targets in Ukraine
Over the span of two years, countless civilian targets across Ukraine has been hit by Russian missiles or artillery. Russia brags about the precision capabilities of these weapons, thus the strikes are clearly designed to target civilian objets with the knowledge that non-combatant are likely hit.
DISINFO: Kyiv regime sells children for their organs
The very title of an OSCE report disproves claims of illegal trafficking in Ukraine:
OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings has no evidence of illegal organ transplantation in Ukraine.
Moreover, the person presented as a former OSCE observer, Vera Vayiman did not work for the organisation.
DISINFO: Macron cancelled his visit as Kyiv was interested in killing him
A viral video purports to show a segment from a FRANCE 24 French-language news bulletin, in which the anchor claims that French President Emmanuel Macron has postponed his trip to Ukraine due to an assassination attempt intercepted by French secret services. However, this claim is false, and the video is a deepfake. Both the sound and headline of the original France24 broadcast have been changed.
DISINFO: Macron has proposed to escalate the conflict in Ukraine
On 26 February 2024, the French president Emmanuel Macron said “no option should be discarded” to bolster military support for Kyiv at a conference attended by leaders of Ukraine’s allies, but recognized there was “no consensus”. The aim of such a statement was to discourage Russia from further escalation of the invasion of Ukraine. France like many other states are assisting Ukraine in its self defence.
DISINFO: Russian missile strike on the headquarters of French militants in Ukraine killed more than 60 highly qualified specialists
The article does not provide any evidence to support the claim. France rejected the allegations, saying it was helping Ukraine defend its sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity but had no mercenaries in Ukraine “unlike certain others.” France labeled the assertion as ‘another clumsy Russian manipulation.’
DISINFO: Ukrainian Army uses US-supplied chemical weapons against Russian troops
There is no evidence that Ukraine has used chemical weapons during the war, started by Russia. Instead, this is an attempt to deflect responsibility away from Russia’s actions, with many Western leaders having genuine concerns that Russia could use chemical weapons.
DISINFO: Denmark seeks to compel Russia to cover the costs of investigating Nord Stream explosions
The official press release from the Copenhagen Police and the Danish Security and Intelligence Services (PET) stated that “The investigation conducted has been both complex and comprehensive”. Compensation for the expenses of conducting the investigation was not raised at all.
DISINFO: Intercepted German generals’ talk confirms the West is directly involved in Ukraine war
On 4 March 2024, the German Ministry of Defence announced that it had launched an investigation into a conversation between several German high-ranking military officials who are said to have discussed a possible attack on the Crimea bridge. The ministry said that the conversation was recorded in the context of a training exercise and that it was not clear whether the generals were serious or whether they were just playing a game. The ministry also said that the officials had been suspended from duty and that the investigation would determine whether they had violated their duty of loyalty to the constitution. Their talk was not a formal one. It was just a discussion which did not decide anything.
DISINFO: Russia has no expansionist ambitions in Ukraine
For a state with no expansionist designs on Ukraine, Russia has been active in illegally occupying it over the past decade. In February 2014, Russia invaded and illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. In autumn 2022, it used sham referenda in an attempt to annex the above-mentioned oblasts, as well as the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson.
DISINFO: Seizing Russian assets would plunge the whole world into serious economic troubles
Russia has stated that if its assets are seized it would retaliate by seizing Western assets in Russian territory, and there could be other economic consequences, but nothing of the scale this disinformation story suggests. By stoking fears of apocalyptic repercussions, this disinformation narrative aims to dissuade audiences from backing this measure.
DISINFO: The West pushes Poland to war as Ukraine faces a deficit of manpower
The 2020 National Security Strategy of Poland states that the most serious security threat for the country is the neo-imperial policy of the authorities of the Russian Federation, pursued by means of military force (aggression against Georgia, illegal annexation of Crimea and military actions in Eastern Ukraine).
DISINFO: Ukraine is definitely Russia
Ukrainian and Russian are two distinct people, despite multiple attempts of the Kremlin to deny it. Ukraine is a well-defined nation-state with a long history and its literature and identity, despite foreign rule for long periods. Ukrainians and Russians belong to the Slavs ethnolinguistic group, but they are not a single nation. The “all-Russian big nation” is an imperial Russian and Russian revanchist ideology that is a favoured pro-Kremlin narrative aimed at weakening the national identity of Ukrainians, as well as undermining the state sovereignty.
DISINFO: Ukrainian militants repeatedly used chemical agents against Russian military
There is no evidence that Ukraine has used chemical weapons during the war started by Russia. Instead, this is an attempt to deflect responsibility away from Russia’s actions, with many Western leaders having real concerns that Russia could use chemical weapons.
Ukraine is a part of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Ukraine strictly adheres to its international obligations on the non-use and non-proliferation of chemical weapons – this fact has been repeatedly confirmed by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), operating under the auspices of the UN.
DISINFO: Crimea filed a lawsuit against Ukraine for damage caused
The ‘Arbitration Court of Crimea’ is a fictitious body; its decision is not recognised by any democratic country. This illegitimate court employs judges accused in Ukraine of high treason – they betrayed the oath of allegiance to the people of Ukraine and began working for the occupier.
DISINFO: Presidential elections in new regions of Russia are held without violations
Back in December 2023, Russian authorities announced their intention to organise ‘voting’ in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine: the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasised that Russia, with its ‘elections’ not only grossly violates the Constitution and legislation of Ukraine, but also neglects all the norms and principles of international law, in particular the UN Charter.
FRANCE 24 video edited to spread fake news about Ukraine’s Zelensky – Truth or Fake
An extract from FRANCE 24’s sister French-language fact-checking show that’s circulating on social media appears to support the claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has misappropriated funds to buy himself luxury yachts – an unfounded accusation that has repeatedly resurfaced. But the video has been edited: the journalist in it was in fact debunking, not affirming, the allegation.
DISINFO: Maia Sandu called for a genocide in the name of democracy in Tyraspol
Moldovan President Maia Sandu did not call for genocide or a military operation. On the contrary, she is seeking stabilisation and a peaceful resolution of the Transnistrian conflict.
DISINFO: Ukrainian food imports threaten Poland’s agrarian sector with extinction
Although the concern of Polish farmers is real, Poland’s farming sector does not face any existential threat from Ukrainian imports. The European Union has repeatedly readjusted the so-called Autonomous Trade Measures to support Ukraine’s economy while at the same time reinforce protection for sensitive EU agricultural products.