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.
Fake: Zelenskyi Wears Nazi Symbols to Vatican
The stylized Ukrainian coat of arms on President Zelenskyi’s sweatshirt is one of many other variations of the Ukrainian trident, which has been used in state heraldry for centuries.
Are These Before-and-After Pics of the Same Location in Bucha, Ukraine?
Claim: A pair of photographs shows the same location in Bucha, Ukraine, following Russia’s withdrawal in April 2022 and roughly a year after efforts to rebuild were undertaken.
Rating: True
Manipulation: Zelensky Talking the Pope Out of Negotiations and Peace
The New York Times article does not claim that Ukraine opposes peace and negotiations. On the contrary, it emphasizes that the main topic of the meeting between President Zelenskyi and the Pope was precisely the Peace Formula – the Ukrainian scenario for the end of the war. At the same time, Zelenskyi really considers the negotiations with Putin meaningless.
Fake: Greece Opposes Supplying Ukraine with Weapons
Greece pledged military assistance to Ukraine in resisting Russian aggression. The country’s defense minister has stated that Greece ‘will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes.’
Manipulation: Ukrainian Intelligence Chief Budanov Calls to Kill All Russians
The Ukrainian Intelligence Chief of the Defense Ministry did not call to kill all Russians. In his interviews, Kyrylo Budanov emphasized that anyone who committed war crimes in Ukraine will be found and liquidated in any part of the world. He never called for killing Russians on national grounds, as the Russian media reported. Such narratives are another Russian propagandist attempt to present Ukraine as a country of flourishing Nazism.
Fake: Ukrainians Forced to Join Estonian Military, Threatened With Deportation
In response to StopFake’s request, the Ukrainian Embassy in Estonia claimed that Ukrainians are not being drafted into the Estonian army. The official website for refugees in Estonia has no information about this obligation for Ukrainian citizens as well.
Parties in Kyiv nightclubs in the midst of war? Watch out for these misleading images
A video compilation that has been circulating since May 3 claims to show that – despite the war – the party is in full swing in Kyiv’s nightclubs, taking advantage of foreign donations to Ukraine’s war effort. Most of these images date from before the war, however, and some of the establishments where they were filmed have been closed since the conflict began in February 2022.
Was Russian Victory Day Tank Sent to Ukraine After Parade?
Misleading Material. The video shared on Twitter is from a Russian parade in 2018. While similar to the tank used in the recent Victory Day parade, it is not the same vehicle.
Although we cannot say with certainty that the Victory Day parade tank hasn’t been or won’t be used in the war against Ukraine, there is no evidence to suggest that it or others of the same model will or have been used, least of all because they were manufactured dating to World War II.
Was Russia’s Only ‘Victory Day’ Tank Actually Built in Ukraine?
While there is some truth to the tweet about the tank, it doesn’t tell the full story. The T-34 was developed in 1939-1940 in Kharkiv, then part of the Moscow-controlled Soviet Republic of Ukraine at Plant Number 183. Production was later moved to the Russian cities of Omsk, Nizhny Tagil, and Nizhny Novgorod due to (later confirmed) fears of German invasion. […]
According to Zaloga, the turret on the tank in the Victory Day parade indicated that it was likelier built in Nizhny Tagil, where a redesign called the T-34-85 was built.
Are These Real Videos of People Partying in Kyiv, Ukraine, During Wartime?
Since the Russian invasion in February 2023, the city has been under various levels of curfew.
Manipulation: Ukraine Drives Up Criminal Activity in Eastern Europe
The April 24 article on the French news Atlantico website does not claim that crime in Eastern Europe has skyrocketed because of Ukraine. The story refers to the so-called Carpathian gray zone, an area used by criminal groups from various countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia, to traffic prohibited goods to the EU. According to Xavier Raufer, the article’s author, the increased flow through the Carpathian zone is caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine and its blockade of Ukrainian ports.
Did Ukraine Attack the Kremlin in Russia With Drone Strikes?
Videos on social media purportedly showed the Kremlin being attacked and smoke emerging from behind the building.
Putin didn’t ‘shut down’ all Russian oil to the U.S. It’s already banned.
This isn’t accurate. The U.S. banned all imports of Russian oil, natural gas and coal in March 2022 after Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.
A caption on an April 26 viral Facebook video claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin “just SHUTDOWN All Oil To The US, Collapsing The US Economy!”
Oil prices have dropped in recent days, but market experts credit that largely to weak demand and economic jitters over banking. This is the opposite of what would be expected with prices if this claim were accurate.
It’s not. This claim is Pants on Fire!
Fake: Ukraine Will Blow Up Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant During Counteroffensive, US Confirms
The US delivered to Ukraine sensors that detect a surge of radiation. This is solely caused by Russia’s nuclear blackmail, not the Ukrainian army’s actions or plans.
Fake: Ukrainian Forces Unable to Counter Russian Missiles
Aviation expert Valery Romanenko did not make such claims during an interview with the NTA TV channel. On the contrary, both Ukraine and foreigners emphasize the effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense increasing significantly since the full-scale war with Russia began (up to 80%).
Old port fire video falsely shared as ‘Israeli attack on Iran’s military aid to Russia’
An old video of a smoking field of debris has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times in Chinese-language social media posts that falsely claim it shows Iranian military aid for Russia blown up by Israel in March 2023. But there is no evidence the event described in the posts actually occurred. The video was in fact shared by an Afghan official in the aftermath of a massive port fire in the country in February 2021.
Forged poster shared to claim ‘homeless people recruited in US to fight in Ukraine’
Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, an international legion backing the Kyiv government started an advertising campaign to drum up overseas support and recruit fighters from abroad. However, a fabricated poster shared thousands of times online, allegedly targeting people on welfare in the United States, is not related to this campaign. Ukrainian authorities say the image — which AFP found has several inconsistencies in its formatting — is a forgery.
Fake News: NBU Governor Bought a Rolls-Royce
The car in question most likely belongs to a Ukrainian businessman and deputy of the Vinnytsia Oblast Council. What also indirectly points to this conclusion is the car’s registration in the city of Mohyliv-Podilskyi, Vinnytsia oblast. The purchase of the Rolls-Royce GHOST with the vehicle registration plate ÐÐ0001ÐÐ took place on 8 February 2022, meaning it occurred before Andriy Pyshnyy was appointed NBU Governor (and took office in October 2022) and before Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine.
Fake CNN tweet on Zelensky, immigration spreads online
An image circulating online purports to show a CNN tweet quoting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he plans to change his war-torn nation’s demographics through mass immigration. But the supposed screenshot is fabricated; the global news network published no such post, a spokesperson confirmed to AFP.
Is Image of ‘Scared’ Putin Connected to Russia’s Ukraine War?
Misleading Material. While the image in the tweet is a photo of Putin, it has nothing to do with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was taken during a submarine dive off an island in the Gulf of Finland in 2019.