Bill Gates did not say that in the coming years Ukraine will be the greatest danger for the world. In an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, the well-known philanthropist stressed that war is a “terrible tragedy” for the country where hostilities are taking place, but the echoes of this war also reverberate throughout the world. In particular, African countries are now receiving less attention because European budgets are being reallocated to other needs brought on by the pandemic, the war, and the energy crisis.

Preparations for the spring sowing campaign in Ukraine are in full swing. Despite the Russian invasion, mined fields and the temporary occupation of some regions, Ukraine is preparing to sow enough grain to not only meet the country’s annual needs, but to also to allow grain and foodstuffs exports to foreign markets.

A recent article talks about steps to be taken to help Ukrainian energy networks avoid collapse in the face of relentless Russian bombardment. The author argues that this is no less important than the supply of modern weapons. The possibility of Ukraine becoming uninhabitable is discussed only in the event of a complete lack of support from the West, and the total Russian destruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Russian social media users are claiming that while expressing condolences about the tragic earthquake that struck Turkey, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reminded Ankara that he hopes Turkey will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine. President Zelensky never posted such a tweet, this post is a fake. On the contrary, the Ukrainian President offered help to Turkey and said that Ukrainian rescuers and equipment were being sent to participate in the rescue efforts.

The Financial Times article cited in this latest Russian fake claiming the US is unlikely to actually send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, features several experts, some of whom said that Ukraine may face difficulties using the Abrams tanks. However, neither the author of the article nor the experts featured in the story ever said that the United States could “refuse to transfer Abrams tanks to Ukraine because of the technically complex process of maintaining their combat readiness.”

The FRANCE 24 Observers team have conducted an investigation since November 2022 and have spotted a variety of fake anti-Ukraine ads throughout the globe – a product of Russian disinformation and propaganda. Find out more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

The photograph circulated by Russian media and pro-Kremlin social media users as proof of anti-Ukrainian advertising in Poland, is an example of basic photoshop manipulation. There are scores of identical photos on the web which containe different advertisements on the billboards. Using the Mediamodifier website, your image can be inserted on this billboard with the same background, completely free of charge.

Russian media claims that draft notices are being issued to Ukrainians in the UK and Poland are not true. According to Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers Regulation #1487, Ukrainian diplomatic missions are obliged to inform Ukrainian citizens of military service age about conscription campaigns and to facilitate their return to Ukraine in times of mobilization or war. No one is authorized to serve draft notices abroad, not even diplomatic workers. The video being circulated online, in which a Telegram user claims several of his acquaintances received draft notices in their places of employment in Poland is a blatant lie. Another fake vein, in which a letter allegedly urging Ukrainians currently living in the UK to report to the Ukrainian embassy seemingly for military service, is also a forgery.

A speech made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been quickly misinterpreted by many, in a video circulating on Twitter where he allegedly asks for pre-emptive nuclear strikes against Russia. Zelensky was referring to economic “strikes”, not nuclear strikes. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

Online articles and social media posts claim almost 2,700 NATO soldiers and military trainers have died during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This is false; the military alliance has not deployed personnel to Ukraine and an official confirmed to AFP that none have been killed in the conflict.

The tweet suggests that all 19 million books have been banned, which the details of this story do not clarify. It may also imply incorrectly that only books by Russian authors or about Russia are being removed. Although books such as these may well be removed, the tweet does not summarize the details of this story, or lack thereof, correctly.

As Western countries pledged to step up deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, social media users in Thailand shared a fabricated quote that the European Union’s most senior diplomat Josep Borrell called to “keep using Ukrainians as our bait” in order to defeat Russia and “avenge Napoleon and Hitler”. While Borrell mentioned Napoleon and Hitler in a speech about the war in Ukraine, he was speaking in the context of Russia’s past military victories and did not say they should be “avenged”.

False. The tenuous link between Hunter Biden, Rosemont Seneca, Metabiota, and the Ukrainian government notwithstanding, the “letter” from the Ukrainian government has been debunked. The letter, which was circulated on Russian social media in 2022, was littered with mistakes that indicated it was translated to Ukrainian from Russian.

There are no NATO troops or trainers in Ukraine, and no NATO personnel have been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, NATO said. The U.S. has sent troops to countries surrounding Ukraine that are NATO members, but the U.S. has not sent troops into Ukraine. The Pentagon announced in December that Ukrainian troops would travel to a U.S. base in Grafenwöhr, Germany for military training from soldiers from the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command’s 7th Army Training Command. It’s unclear how many Russian or Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded so far. U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in January that Russia alone has had more than 100,000 killed or wounded. We rate the claim that in Ukraine, 2,458 NATO soldiers and 234 NATO military trainers have died, some of whom are from the U.S., Pants on Fire!

Verdict: False There is no evidence of any such request. The Ukrainian government and independent journalists have denied the claims.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not called for a nuclear strike on Russia. Speaking online at the Australian Lowy Institute in October of last year, Zelensky pointed out that NATO needs to reconsider its pressure on Russia in order to deter Moscow from using nuclear weapons. The “preemptive actions” the Ukrainian President referred to are additional sanctions and military assistance to Ukraine, something Zelensky has insisted on well before Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2023.

The U.S. spent more than $849 billion in the 20-year war in Afghanistan and has spent about $113 billion to support Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022. But a video on social media falsely claims that the aid for Ukraine is “double the U.S. expenditure for its own war in Afghanistan.”

Conservative politicians and commentators claim US President Joe Biden defied his own warnings about triggering a third World War with Russia by delivering tanks to Ukraine. But the quote shared as proof has been edited to distort its meaning; Biden said in March 2022 that having “planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews” would constitute “World War III.”

In March 2022, Biden said the supply of tanks and other equipment with—crucially— American troops on the ground would amount to what he described as “World War 3”. While the arrival of M1-Abrams tanks to Ukraine is new, the U.S. has funded the upgrade and supply of Soviet-era tanks to Kyiv.

President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 25, 2023, that the U.S. is sending 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. Earlier in the war, almost a year ago, Biden said, “The idea that we’re going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews, just understand … that’s called ‘World War III.'” A widely shared meme shortened Biden’s quote to make it appear as if he said sending tanks alone to Ukraine would cause World War III. A meme shared in a tweet claimed that in March, Biden said, “The idea that we’re going to send in tanks to Ukraine, that’s called World War III.” Biden announced the U.S. will be sending M1 Abrams tanks about 10 months later. The quote is edited to leave out the full context of Biden’s comments. He said the U.S. would not be sending offensive equipment and planes, tanks and trains with U.S. pilots and crews. We rate the claim False.