Latest fact checks & sources

Russian disinformation has created a fraudulent report purporting to come from our sister radio station RFI, insinuating that “Ukrainian soldiers sent for tuberculosis treatment in France” are responsible for France’s recent rebound in the disease. Meanwhile, French authorities have taken down a fake French armed forces website, which invited French citizens to enlist in Ukraine. We explain in this edition of Truth or Fake.

These claims are unfounded. The President proposed to direct the funds to the state budget so that the Ukrainian authorities could independently distribute them among Ukrainian refugees. He explained that after the full-scale aggression by the Russian Federation, Ukrainians took their money with them, which still remains in Europe.

There is no evidence of Ukrainian involvement in the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack. Kyiv strongly denied any involvement in the assault on the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, and the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility.

Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative depicting Ukraine and the USA as terrorist countries. The claim was made in connection with the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack in Moscow, trying to link Ukraine to the terrorist attacks in Russia without presenting any evidence. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for and shared video footage from the attacks, corroborating their claims of responsibility.

There is no evidence backing this allegation. The US has been acting as the leader of the global coalition to defeat Daesh/ISIS, and has invested massive resources and efforts for years to fight Al Qaeda. Israel is also a declared target of jihadist organisations, and has worked to thwart ISIS terror attacks worldwide and inside Israel itself.

U.S officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group’s Afghan affiliate, IS-Khorasan, is responsible for the Moscow attack. “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

The video is fake. Oleksiy Danilov never uttered these sentences. The video has been confirmed as having been generated by artificial intelligence from two previous interviews with Danilov. According to BBC Verify, “the two interviews used to create the fake video can be accessed on YouTube, one -dated 19 March- features Danilov and the other -dated 16 March- Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov”.

U.S officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group’s Afghan affiliate, IS-Khorasan, is responsible for the Moscow attack. “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

US officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group’s Afghan affiliate IS-Khorasan is responsible for the Moscow attack. “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

Ukraine’s international allies have repeatedly stressed that Ukraine has the right to carry out any military operations aimed at de-occupying its territories

Despite Russia’s war against Ukraine, the country will not cancel social spending. Payments of pensions and social benefits are a priority for Ukraine. The Government of Ukraine has repeatedly emphasized that payments of pensions, salaries, as well as financing of education, medicine and the military sector are protected expenditure items of the Ukrainian budget, which are carried out on time and in full. At the same time, Ukraine, together with the International Monetary Fund, plans to continue the reform of the country’s pension system. This is stated in the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policy with the IMF dated March 22, 2024 (page 95).

There were incidents where suspects were tortured and mutilated by Russian security forces, who captured this mistreatment in videos and pictures, following their arrest. The coverage of the attack in the Spanish media has unequivocally condemned this terrorist act against civilians.

U.S officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group’s Afghan affiliate, IS-Khorasan, is responsible for the Moscow attack. “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

US officials have intelligence that the Islamic State group’s Afghan affiliate IS-Khorasan is responsible for the Moscow attack. “ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

The claim is patently false, as this disinformation story was itself illustrated with a screen capture taken from Amaq, the official Islamic State propaganda media. As terrorism experts pointed out, this leaves no question regarding the authenticity of the statement. No longer after this disinformation story appeared, the Islamic State released multiple evidence, including a gruesome video of the Moscow attack filmed by the attackers themselves, leaving little doubt about its responsibility.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that such Russian reports were ‘another false narrative of the Kremlin.’ The spokesperson added: ‘The United States does not take sides in elections; our only interest is in the democratic process.’ “The elections are obviously not free nor fair given how Mr. Putin has imprisoned political opponents and prevented others from running against him,” the White House’s national security council spokesperson said.

The disinformation is based on an interview with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell to CNN, published on March 25, 2024. Josep Borrell discussed the policy of support for Ukraine from the EU and the United States. In the context of his visit to the United States in March 2024, Borrell warned that the coming months would be decisive for Russia’s war against Ukraine and called on allies to urgently help Kyiv. Borrell emphasised that support for Ukraine is extremely important for allies, not just as a “show of love for the people of Ukraine,” but as a contribution to the defence capability of Ukraine and NATO countries. Josep Borrell once again noted that the consequences of Russia’s theoretical victory in Ukraine will be catastrophic for the EU and Russia will not stop.

Even though the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for last week’s deadly Moscow concert hall attack, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, pro-Russian social media users and bots are continuing to insist that Ukraine was involved in the atrocity. We debunk all the false claims for you in this edition of Truth or Fake.

There is no evidence to back the claim that Ukraine is preparing a chemical provocation or a use of the weapons of mass destruction. In March 2024, the 105th session of the Executive Council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was held. One of the topics of the meeting was the use of chemical weapons in the war against Ukraine. Members of the OPCW Council rejected Russian accusations against Ukraine, calling them a disinformation campaign aimed at creating confusion in the Council and discrediting the OPCW. Russia was also accused of spreading unsubstantiated accusations regarding Ukraine’s alleged “plans” to use chemical weapons on its own territory.

A broad coalition of nations including the EU and the US supports Ukraine with military equipment and economic aid. Kyiv’s Western partners help Ukraine to liberate all of its occupied territories and restore its sovereignty within its internationally recognised borders of 1991. Ukraine is acting in self-defence against the Russian invasion as enshrined in the UN Charter Article 51. Ukraine receives only conventional weapons. Nuclear arms and other means of mass destruction are not supplied to Ukraine.