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Fake: Politico: West Wants Urgent Peace Treaty with Russia Because Ukraine Is In for…

The Politico newspaper, which Russian media claims published a story about an imminent peace treaty between the West and the Russian Federation, does not have a single article on this topic. Quite the contrary, the publication quotes many Western politicians who say that the United States and the European Union are committed to long-term support for Ukraine and do not see a possible to end the war in the near future.

No, a Ukrainian attack didn’t destroy a Moscow skyscraper

A fire broke out on the roof of a Russian skyscraper, according to state news, and was extinguished with minimal damage.

We found no evidence to support the suggestion that the incident is connected to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

A Polish news organization, also citing the Tass agency, said "the fire affected one square meter of space."

We didn't see any credible reports tying the fire to a Ukrainian attack, or any attack.

We rate this post False.

Fake: Russian Defense Ministry: Ukraine Lost 234 Planes and 137 Helicopters since War Began

Russia's Defense Ministry claims to have shot down more planes and helicopters than Ukraine ever had. According to official data, all branches of Ukraine's Armed forces combined were armed with a much smaller number of aircraft than what the Russians claim to have shot down.

Fake: Russian Forces Destroy Georgian Legion

Georgian National Legion commander Mamuka Mamulashvili and his fighters refute Russian claims that the legion was destroyed by Russian forces. Legion members say this is yet another Kremlin disinformation campaign against Georgian fighters who, together with Ukraine's Armed Forces, are fighting against Russian aggression. Neither the Ukrainian military nor anyone else has confirmed the Legion's alleged demise.

Post shows video game footage, not the war in Ukraine

What's being described as footage of the war in Ukraine is seen through a scope, with faint chatter in the background and the blast of weapons obliterating tanks on the ground.

"In Saturday Russian artillery tanks was completely destroyed by Bayraktar TB2 drones," reads a grammatically problematic July 3 Facebook post sharing the video.

But if you watch long enough, the clip is clearly glitchy and the aesthetics might seem familiar ' we've previously fact-checked videos like it that mischaracterize video game footage to make it seem like it's a recording of live combat in Eastern Europe.

Searching for the video's description online, we found a YouTube post that gives more context, informing the reader that this isn't real war footage. We rate claims that this is real war footage False.

Fake: German Tabloid Bild Reports Russian Military Captured German PzH 2000 Howitzer

The German tabloid newspaper Bild has not reported that Russian forces captured a German PzH 2000 Howitzer, transferred to Ukraine as part of German military assistance. Journalists from the German daily newspaper Welt were unable to find any confirmation of this claim. Russian media have not provided any evidence to support these allegations.

Footage shows Polish flag at German band’s rock concert, not Indonesian flag

Two videos have been viewed over a million times in social media posts that claim they show an Indonesian flag flown during a concert by German rock band Scorpions after Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Ukraine and Russia to urge peace talks in late June 2022. The claim is false; the videos were taken during a Scorpions concert in Poland on May 28, 2022. News reports say the Polish and Ukrainian flags had been flown at the concert, not the Indonesian flag.

This visual effects video does not show ‘Russia’s vacuum bomb attack in Ukraine’

A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times in multiple social media posts that claim it shows Russia attacking Ukraine with a vacuum bomb in 2022. The claim, however, is false. Although Russia has been accused of using such weapons in Ukraine, the video in fact is a digital creation of a visual effects artist.

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