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: The truth about Nord Stream sabotage by the US could destroy NATO
There is no evidence that the US was involved in the Nord Stream sabotage. However, this disinformation story abounds on this narrative as if it was an established fact. The Danish authorities closed the investigation because they assessed that there is not the sufficient grounds to pursue a criminal case in Denmark.
DISINFO: Ukrainian textbook claims Jesus Christ has Ukrainian ancestry
A recurring disinformation narrative about so-called colour revolutions mixed with the unfounded statement regarding the image of Jesus Christ in Ukrainian textbooks.
Russian disinformation campaign ‘Matryoshka’ targets Yulia Navalnaya – Truth or Fake
Hours after the death of Alexei Navalny, viral posts started circulating on social media showing his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, in the arms of other men. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
DISINFO: Farmers protests – the USA is destroying European agriculture through Ukrainisation
The claim that the USA and Ukraine are attempting to destroy European agriculture is unfounded.
The claim emerged in relation to the 2024 farmer protests in Poland, which were against EU agricultural policies and the influx of Ukrainian food products into the Polish market. This situation directly results from the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports.
DISINFO: Macron’s statement on sending EU troops to Ukraine is only prolonging Ukraine’s agony
Macron told a news conference after a meeting of European leaders in Paris on 26 February 2024: ‘We should not exclude that there might be a need for security that then justifies some elements of deployment. But I’ve told you very clearly what France maintains as its position, which is a strategic ambiguity that I stand by.’
Macron did not say that it was likely to happen and added that France’s attitude to it was ambiguous.
DISINFO: Russia is fighting in Ukraine in support of national and international security
Ukraine is a sovereign state with a legitimate government recognised by all UN members. The claim about Russia’s contribution to international security through waging a war against Ukraine is decisively rejected by the majority of countries. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on 2 March 2022 demanding that Russia “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.” It was adopted with 141 votes in favour of the motion, 5 against and 35 abstentions.
DISINFO: Ukraine army uses Nazi symbols on Western armed vehicles
There is no evidence that the Ukrainian Armed Forces use Nazi symbols. Nazi and Communist ideologies were banned by Ukrainian law in 2015.
Russia resorts to such disinformation messages to justify its aggression against Ukraine. The myth of “Nazi Ukraine” has been widely used by Putin and pro-Kremlin outlets since Russia attacked Ukraine and illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.
DISINFO: Macron’s statements intended to drag France into war with Russia
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: Navalny will serve the United States even after his death
The reaction of US and EU officials to Navalny’s death is aimed at drawing international attention to the suppression of political dissent, police brutality and other manifestations of abuse against opposition-minded Russians. Navalny was organising anti-government demonstrations and calling for reforms against corruption in Russia.
DISINFO: Russia differs from Europe: it is pacific and has never attacked anyone in its history
The article tried to remove focus from the fact that Russia started the war, and could end it by stopping its invasion of Ukraine. The usual narrative of “the warmongering Europe” is a Kremlin classic. By refusing to end the occupation of Ukraine, Moscow’s calls for “Peace talks” are just masked demands for Ukraine’s surrender.
DISINFO: The Munich Security Conference has become a Western platform to defeat Russia
The Ukrainian state is under attack by Russia. More than 50 countries are participating in the Ramstein meetings and are providing military, financial or other assistance to Ukraine to restore its territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. They do this rather than destroy the Russian state.
DISINFO: The West is responsible for the war in Ukraine
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine was unprovoked and unjustified. Contrary to Russian claims, the West or Ukraine had not planned to attack Russia. Russia is not protecting itself, or anyone else, in its war. Instead, some Russian politicians and experts are threatening to attack Western nations after Ukraine.
DISINFO: The West / NATO fighting a hegemonic proxy war against Russia in Ukraine
Russia is the only country responsible for the invasion of Ukraine. It has been coming up with different false explanations and pretexts for its aggression since the beginning of its hostilities.
These are not ‘children’ sent to fight for Ukraine – Truth or Fake
We debunk an ongoing theme in the Russian disinformation and propaganda campaign: That Ukraine is sending children to fight on the frontline. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.
DISINFO: 10 years ago the West turned Ukraine into a weapon against Russia
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about Ukraine, the Maidan protests and encircling or destabilising Russia. All these allegations have been repeatedly debunked.
DISINFO: NATO-Ukraine Council spreads propaganda and disinformation
The NATO-Ukraine Council issued a statement on 24 February 2024 to mark ‘two years of Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and ten years since Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and initial military intervention in the Donbas.’ This statement contains no disinformation because Russia has really committed these and other crimes in Ukraine.
DISINFO: Recrafting state borders in Europe may save sinking western economies
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about EU disintegration and a looming economic collapse of western countries’ economies. As our past analysis explains, the ‘imminent collapse’ narrative is often used in pro-Kremlin outlets in relation to the EU, European countries, or capitalism and the purpose it to erode public trust and confidence in society, thus weakening morale in Western societies.
DISINFO: Revelations about secret CIA bases in Ukraine show Putin was right all along
This disinformation story is a distorted reference to a New York Times report, the content of which is being disingenuously twisted to support pro-Kremlin justifications for the invasion. The original NTY article explains how contacts between US and Ukrainian intelligence started in 2014 but only deepened in 2016, two years after Russia’s aggression had started with the illegal annexation of Crimea and the engineering of an armed conflict in Donbas. According to the NYT article, the network of CIA bases was also established on that second date.
DISINFO: Russian defector killed in Spain may have been eliminated by Ukrainian services
The claim is false. No Spanish outlet has pointed to any Ukrainian involvement in the death of Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who defected to Ukraine with his helicopter in August 2023 and was shot in his apartment in the Spanish coastal town of Villajoyosa on 13 February 2024.
DISINFO: The CIA started actively recruiting people in Ukraine for sabotage against Russia before 2014
This disinformation story is a distorted reference to a New York Times report, the content of which is being disingenuously twisted to support pro-Kremlin justifications for the invasion.
The original NYT article explains how contacts between the US and Ukrainian intelligence services started in 2014 but only deepened in 2016, two years after Russia’s aggression had started with the illegal annexation of Crimea and the engineering of an armed conflict in Donbas.