Latest fact checks & sources

Since Ukraine’s surprise “Operation Spider’s Web” strikes on Russian bombers, some internet users have been coming up with theories about how Kyiv carried them out. Some allege that Ukraine took advantage…

The viral video claimed to show Russia’s attacks on Ukraine is a video of a massive fire at Al Hamriya Port in Sharjah. The viral claim is misleading.

Claim: The viral video shows Russia’s latest strike on Ukraine, destroying seven airbases and signalling a dire warning to the West. Fact: The video dates back to July 2024 and shows a Russian missile hitting a Kyiv children’s hospital, not multiple airbases.

Claim: The video shows that Ukraine destroyed 40 Russian nuclear-capable bombers in a drone strike on Russian airbases in June 2025. Fact: The viral video does not show Ukraine destroying 40 Russian nuclear-capable bombers in a drone strike in June 2025. The footage is from the military simulation game Arma 3, created for entertainment and educational purposes, not real events. While Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb targeted multiple Russian airbases on 01 June 2025, Russian officials confirmed damage only at Murmansk and Irkutsk bases. Authentic footage of the attacks differs from the viral video. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.

The video showing a petroleum chemical factory burning in Sharjah is falsely shared as footage of a Russian retaliation against Ukraine.

Claim: After a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack, the video shows Russia retaliating by bombing Ukrainian airbases. Fact: The claim is false. The video shows Russian missiles raining down on Kyiv on July 8, 2024.

Video claiming to show Russia attacking Ukraine.

Did U.S. President Donald Trump complain on social media that Ukraine’s attacks on Russia interfere with his sleep? No, that’s…

Multiple social media users shared a photo showing a heavily damaged and likely destroyed military vehicle, specifically a radar or air defence system. The user claimed that Pakistan destroyed India’s S-400 defence system. However, the Desk found that the photo shows a Russian S-400 defence system destroyed by Ukraine in 2024. The image was shared with a false claim on social media.

Multiple tools showed high confidence that this image is an AI-generated one.

The line between games and reality is more blurred than ever.

The footage actually showed a Ukrainian strike on the Crimean port of Feodosia in December 2023 – not Ukrainian strikes on Russia in June 2025.

Claim: The video shows the aftermath of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Fact: The claim is false. The video shows a fire breaking out at a fuel storage facility in Sharjah’s Al Hamriyah Port on May 31.

Trump never made the above statement, nor did he call on Ukraine to compensate Russia for destroyed aircraft. We found no evidence in his publicized statements, in the news media or on his social media accounts to corroborate the claim. As such, it is an incorrect attribution.

The video doesn’t show Moscow explosions in June 2025, it’s a compilation of old footage from Crimea during past Russia-Ukraine conflicts.

Claim: Russian nuclear bomber attacks Ukraine️ following the latter’s large-scale drone strikes on June 1, 2025, targeting multiple airbases deep inside Russia. Fact: Video dates back to November 21, 2024, when Russia fired its intermediate-range ballistic missile, targeting the Pivdenmash industrial plant in Dnipro, Ukraine.

Did President Trump say that Ukraine must compensate Russia for the aircraft it destroyed in a June 1, 2025, drone attack on Russian air bases? No, that’s not true: There is no record of President Trump posting these words on his social media accounts or saying them publicly. A Google search for the quote finds it only on social media posts not related to Trump. No news media reported the quote, although the photo on the meme of Trump speaking in the Oval Office would suggest he said it there in front of journalists.

The video dates back to July 2024. It does not show a recent Russian retaliatory strike on Ukraine.

Claim: The image shows a Ukrainian airbase destroyed in a retaliatory action by Russia. Fact: The claim is false. The image is AI-generated.

Did a widely-shared clip show Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian airbases, in retaliation against a series of drone attacks on Russian warplanes in June 2025? No, that’s not true: The footage was old, and dated to July 2024 at the latest. It appeared to show Russian missiles striking a children’s hospital in Kyiv, not airbases.