An man posing as “Paul Kochadie” fooled over 400,000 followers on his Douyin account (TikTok’s equivalent in China) by using artificial intelligence to pretend to be a Russian soldier on the Ukrainian frontline. This man, who sent “daily” updates about the war in Ukraine, was neither Russian nor a soldier, but instead a resident of Henan, China. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

The world held its breath as Wagner forces advanced on Moscow and their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, seemed to challenge President Vladimir Putin. Many videos claim to show clashes between both sides, but not all are real.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not refuse to hold elections in Ukraine. The Constitution of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” expressly prohibit holding any elections to the executive and legislative branches of government during wartime.

Russian aggression is aimed at Ukraine, not the so-called “collective West.” And since this war has nothing to do with the West, the damage to the Ukrainian economy and the destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure is solely Russia’s responsibility, having launched an unprovoked, large-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Some users on social media are sharing extremely realistic video game footage, claiming that it’s real-life images coming out of the Wagner group rebellion this weekend. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

The international television company Al Jazeera denied the information that this story was created by its correspondents. A spokesperson for the TV company said that the video, as well as the information in it, is fake and was fabricated by a third party.

Martial law and general mobilization continue in Ukraine. The orders from individual territorial recruitment centers is not something new, their purpose is to re-notify persons liable for military service for further reporting to the recruitment centers.

The drop in Kyiv’s rating is not due to the rule of Zelenskyy and Klitschko, but to the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Economist study notes that Kyiv’s score has dropped by 5.9 percentage points compared to 2021 because “its stability and infrastructure damaged by the war.” In 2022, The Economist was forced to remove Kyiv from the ranking altogether due to the hostilities in the Kyiv region.

Misleading Material. General mobilization and martial law have been imposed in Ukraine since day one of Russia’s invasion. The document being shared on social media by pro-Kremlin accounts does not call for another general mobilization of the country but is a local order for residents to update their information, and for authorities to track and keep record of eligibility.

In fact, the IAEA did not deny, but confirmed the fact that the Zaporizhzhia NPP was mined by Russian troops. A press release on the organization’s website said that Zaporizhzhia NPP was mined around the perimeter and in some places inside the plant, which does not meet safety standards. The organization could not confirm the fact that the cooling pond on the territory of the plant was mined as of June 15, when IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi was visiting the plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency called the situation with nuclear safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant extremely unstable.

Ukraine decided to temporarily evacuate sixteen Byzantine icons from the Khanenko Museum to the Louvre due to continuous Russian shelling of the civilian infrastructure and cultural heritage sites. The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine assures that the icons will return home as soon as the situation allows. As a reminder, in October 2022, as a result of a Russian missile attack, the historical building and interior decoration of the Khanenko Museum were damaged.

The U.S. committed about $78 billion in humanitarian, financial and military assistance to Ukraine from January 2022 to February 2023, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German-based research organization that tracks nations’ support of Ukraine, reported. The U.S. total included $47 billion in military aid. That figure ranked highest among all nations and 14th as a percentage of gross domestic product. A Pew Research Center poll in June of U.S. adults age 18 and older found that 31% of respondents said the U.S. is providing the right amount of aid to Ukraine, 28% said too much and 16% said not enough. The Pentagon did not say that it mistakenly sent Ukraine $6.2 billion in cash. We rate the Facebook post False.

Ukrainian Ministry of Health assesses water quality in the reservoirs of Kherson, Odesa, and Mykolaiv regions on a daily basis, and the epidemic situation is currently under control, with no outbreaks of infectious diseases in the affected areas. The narrative about the US biolabs is not confirmed either by specialized experts from different countries or by international organizations working to reduce the threat of proliferation of mass destruction weapons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has not issued any statements about any counteroffensive “failure”. He has stressed that the war in Ukraine is “not a Hollywood movie” and that the lives of Ukrainian citizens are at stake.

According to Ukrhydroenergo, which Kakhovka Hydropower Plant is a subdivision of, the station blown up by the Russian occupiers was completely destroyed and cannot be restored. The construction of the new hydroelectric power station will last at least five years, provided that Ukrainian specialists work 24/7.

The document circulating online is fake. This is evidenced by the many errors in the so-called passport, in particular, the misspelled Hebrew name, surname, nationality and birth place of Olena Zelenska, as well as the validity period of the document.

Minister Reznikov did not make such statements in his interview with the Nashe Vremya media outlet, but only said that this counteroffensive would not be a lightning campaign like the Kherson and Kharkiv campaigns, and that Ukrainian commanders would gradually accomplish their tasks.

Social media users are sharing a viral video that allegedly shows US Javelin anti-tank missile systems, destined for Ukraine, in the hands of Mexican cartel members. The artillery in question is not a Javelin; experts conclude that the cartel members in the video are carrying another type of weapon. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

A representative for Kennedy Jr. told Newsweek via email that “the candidate misspoke.” They added: “What he meant was that spending on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars totaled $8 trillion. He apologizes for the misstatement.” Whatever Kennedy Jr.’s intended message was, the lack of detail does appear to have caused some to believe that the U.S. has spent $8 trillion on Ukraine which is, quite clearly, not correct.

The website of the German media Stern has no articles about Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov falling into a coma and being hospitalized in Germany. In addition, neither the press center, nor the medical service of the Bundeswehr, nor the German Defense Ministry, nor the Berlin police were able to provide any information regarding the hospitalization of the head of Ukrainian intelligence. According to Ukrainian authorities, Kyrylo Budanov is well and performing at his job. In addition, the intelligence office published several videos with the head of intelligence already after the missile attack on Kyiv on May 29. This, according to the Russian media, was the cause of Budanov being seriously injured.