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The fake news items that make it look like Ukraine was involved in the Crocus Hall attack in Russia

The Russian government continues to insist that Ukraine played a role in the terrorist attack that took place on March 22 in Crocus City Hall in a Moscow suburb - even though the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack. And yet, rumours about Ukraine's involvement persist online, often circulated by pro-Russian accounts that are already engaged in a war of disinformation against Ukraine.

Russian embassy shares disinformation on alleged atrocities by foreign mercenaries in Ukraine

The Russian Embassy in South Africa shared an article on X on April 9 about alleged atrocities committed by foreign mercenaries fighting for Ukraine. But this content originated from a fake news site, and the images used can be traced to other contexts.

No, Russia didn’t capture a US Patriot missile launcher to give to China

Did Russia really capture a bunch of US missiles in Ukraine and give them to China? No, but posts featuring that bit of fake news have been garnering thousands of views on social media since May 13. Many of these posts feature a photo said to show these missiles in China. While the photo was indeed taken in China, it actually shows a non-operational replica of these missiles, according to military experts interviewed by our team.

No, this video doesn’t show a Russian airstrike on a NATO arms convoy

A video of a massive fire circulated widely on social media in late April along with captions claiming it showed a strike by the Russian army on a NATO weapons convoy en route to Ukraine. It turns out, however, that this is an old video that wasn't filmed anywhere near Ukraine.

FAKE: Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to create same-sex unions more often – Zaluzhnyi

A screenshot of the news, which was allegedly published on the Dialog.ua website, is being spread online. It says that Valerii Zaluzhnyi allegedly reported that the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to create same-sex unions more often.

However, this is a fake. Zaluzhnyi did not make such statements, and there is no such publication on the Dialog.ua website.

FAKE: Only ‘pure-blooded Ukrainians’ can donate blood – photo of the announcement

An alleged announcement from the online service “Doc.ua” is being spread online that from March 1, 2023, the reception of donated blood will be carried out only when the donor is a “pure-blooded Ukrainian”. Foreign citizens are prohibited from being donors.

However, the service did not provide such announcements. In Ukraine, ethnicity is not included in the list of criteria for a potential blood donor.

FAKE: Military from AFU threatened with a gun a woman with a child because she spoke Russian

Russian media and Telegram channels are distributing a video in which Ukrainian soldiers allegedly stopped a woman with a child because she did not give way to them. As evidence, they provide a segment from the video recorder in the woman’s car. The soldiers then allegedly started yelling at the woman, cursing her, threatening her with guns and shooting in the air because she was speaking to them in Russian.

In fact, this video is staged, it was filmed in the occupied territory of the Donetsk region, where there are no Ukrainian troops.

FAKE: In Ukraine, women with a chemical education are being recruited for the war to prepare ‘provocations’

The Russian media quotes a Kremlin protege of the people’s militia in the so-called “LPR” that women who have an education in chemistry, biology or veterinary medicine are allegedly being recruited for the war in Ukraine. The publication adds that in this way Ukraine is preparing for “provocations” with chemical weapons.

This is a fake. There is no convincing evidence that women are being recruited into the Armed Forces of Ukraine to prepare “provocations” with chemical weapons.