Category Russia

Marjorie Taylor Greene distorts Zelenskyy’s comments about sending US troops to war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not say this. During a February press conference, Zelenskyy predicted that if Ukraine loses the war, Russia will then invade a country that's a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member, forcing the U.S. to defend its allies.

Ukraine borders four NATO member countries, but it is not part of the military alliance.

Their ruling:

Greene claimed that Zelenskyy said he wants America's "sons and daughters to go die in Ukraine."

Zelenskyy did not say that.

During a press conference, he predicted that if Ukraine loses the war, Russia will invade a NATO member country next. If that happens, Zelenskyy said, Americans would be required to "send their sons and daughters" to war because of NATO's mutual defense treaty.

He did not mention U.S. troops going to Ukraine.

We rate this claim False.

Does Video Show U.S. Senator’s ‘Confessions’ to Ukraine Coup?

There are a number of misleading elements to this tweet. Firstly, the video is not a "confession" at all. It is footage from an interview with Russian state-funded broadcaster RT. [...]

The tweet did not provide the necessary context for readers to be able to judge the significance of the footage, which only contained the opinions of a retired state senator.

March 3, 2023
2014 Maidan revolution Context Democracy Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russian propaganda Ukraine USA

Does Video Show Ukraine Drone Dropping Grenades on Civilians?

There is no information in the video to prove those hit were civilians.

Moreover, there are other visual clues that suggest the people in the video may have been military targets.

February 28, 2023
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine

Claims that Vladimir Putin destroyed an ‘adrenochrome warehouse in Ukraine’ lack evidence

A recent blog post builds on a fictitious narrative that Russian President Vladimir Putin is stymieing the production of adrenochrome in Ukraine.......We found no credible news reports or sources to corroborate the unfounded allegations, which were published on Real Raw News, a site that regularly posts fake news. The blog's stories are written by someone using a pseudonym and the site has a disclaimer saying it contains "humor, parody and satire," though the author has defended his stories as truth.

The same site wrote separately that Putin intercepted a shipment of adrenochrome bound for the United States. We rated that Pants on Fire!......We rate claims that Putin destroyed an adrenochrome warehouse in Ukraine Pants on Fire!

Is Putin Ally’s Son Dodging Ukraine Draft as Model in London?

Unverified. At least one of the photos shared regularly online about Vladimir Solovyov's son is misleading and of somebody else; the Irish model Tommy Solovyov.

But there is also no definitive evidence to show that his actual son is currently based in London modeling or elsewhere. Another photo frequently shared online indicates that he has modeled or is modeling; however, that agency is based in Russia.

February 17, 2023
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russia

Vladimir Putin didn’t intercept shipment of chemical compound adrenochrome

Adrenochrome features heavily in QAnon conspiracy theories, which purport the baseless idea that a global cabal of pedophiles is harvesting the chemical from the blood of children to stay young and healthy.
That's false, and so is the claim that Putin foiled a shipment of it.

We found no credible news reports or other sources to corroborate the claims in this post.

Real Raw News has a disclaimer saying it contains "humor, parody and satire," though the author has defended his stories as truth. The website also regularly publishes false, fantastical stories authored by someone using a pseudonym.

We rate this baseless post Pants on Fire!

Have Over 150K Ukraine Troops Been Killed in Russia Conflict?

Unverified. The figures quoted in Twitter come from a Turkish website that does not link to its sources, nor does it provide any other authenticated evidence.

The claim that it received its data from Israeli security services is also highly dubious.

While we cannot verify the actual number of soldiers killed on either side of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the estimates quoted in the tweet and the article do not match anywhere near the figures cited by Western intelligence services and senior officials.

February 10, 2023
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russian propaganda Ukraine

Has Ukraine Banned 19 Million Russian Books From its Libraries?

The tweet suggests that all 19 million books have been banned, which the details of this story do not clarify. It may also imply incorrectly that only books by Russian authors or about Russia are being removed. Although books such as these may well be removed, the tweet does not summarize the details of this story, or lack thereof, correctly.

February 7, 2023
Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russian propaganda Ukraine

NATO and U.S. troops and trainers have not died in Ukraine war

There are no NATO troops or trainers in Ukraine, and no NATO personnel have been killed in Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022, NATO said.

The U.S. has sent troops to countries surrounding Ukraine that are NATO members, but the U.S. has not sent troops into Ukraine.

The Pentagon announced in December that Ukrainian troops would travel to a U.S. base in Grafenwöhr, Germany for military training from soldiers from the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command's 7th Army Training Command.

It's unclear how many Russian or Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded so far.

U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in January that Russia alone has had more than 100,000 killed or wounded.

We rate the claim that in Ukraine, 2,458 NATO soldiers and 234 NATO military trainers have died, some of whom are from the U.S., Pants on Fire!

February 6, 2023
Aid to Ukraine Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings International community Military aid Misconceptions NATO Russia Russian propaganda Ukraine USA

Did Zelensky Order Destruction of Docs Linked to Hunter Biden?

False. The tenuous link between Hunter Biden, Rosemont Seneca, Metabiota, and the Ukrainian government notwithstanding, the "letter" from the Ukrainian government has been debunked.

The letter, which was circulated on Russian social media in 2022, was littered with mistakes that indicated it was translated to Ukrainian from Russian.

February 6, 2023
Corruption Disinformation Fact checks / debunkings Misconceptions Russian propaganda Ukraine USA