Category Russia

Russia’s Eliminationist Rhetoric Against Ukraine: A Collection

Dating at least to 2008 or 2009, increasingly hostile language laid the groundwork for rejecting Ukraine’s existence as a state, a national group, and a culture.

What follows is a compilation of publicly available statements (readers are invited to submit by email any that we may have missed).

Experts such as Francine Hirsch, a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of “Soviet Judgment at Nuremberg,” have pointed to such language as evidence of genocidal intent toward the Ukrainian people. Whether and how the concept of “genocide” applies to Russia’s campaign against Ukraine is the subject of debate, notwithstanding the reference in Article II of the Genocide Convention to “the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such.”

Read MoreRussia’s Eliminationist Rhetoric Against Ukraine: A Collection

Fake Zakharova: Ukrainians Want to See Putin as Their President

Russian claims that Ukrainians would like a president like Vladimir Putin are false. After Russia's occupation and annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of hostilities in Donbas in 2014, Putin's standing among Ukrainians plummeted and reached a minimum after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Read MoreFake Zakharova: Ukrainians Want to See Putin as Their President
RFK Jr. Claims U.S. Pushed Ukraine to War With Russia

RFK Jr. Claims U.S. Pushed Ukraine to War With Russia

No evidence was provided to support the claim Johnson blocked a peace agreement, and the claim that Russia withdrew its forces from Kyiv due to an agreement with Zelensky is widely disputed by political and military experts.

Newsweek has put each of the claims it investigated to RFK Jr.'s spokespeople via email. There has been no response as of the time of publication.

Unless RFK Jr. can provide substantive proof to support some of his arguments, the claims the Democratic hopeful made on Fox News simply do not match the facts.

Read MoreRFK Jr. Claims U.S. Pushed Ukraine to War With Russia

No, this video does not prove that an attack on Odesa was staged by Ukraine

A video has gone viral on social media, with users claiming it shows proof that the destruction of a historic cathedral in Odesa on the night of July 22 to 23 was staged by Ukrainian authorities. They argue that a woman in the video picks up the debris with too much ease for it to be real. However, the woman is actually picking up a light material, most likely polystyrene, so this does not prove that the attack was staged.

Read MoreNo, this video does not prove that an attack on Odesa was staged by Ukraine
Does Video Show 'Mass Surrender' of Ukrainian Troops?

Does Video Show ‘Mass Surrender’ of Ukrainian Troops?

While footage and claims from Wagner should be treated cautiously, it stands to reason that had the video depicted a mass surrender, then Prigozhin or his representatives would have heralded that fact and not a prisoner exchange.

In short, based on footage from the Wagner Group and other news sources, Newsweek can confirm the aerial footage is not of a Ukrainian mass surrender.

Read MoreDoes Video Show ‘Mass Surrender’ of Ukrainian Troops?

Fake: EU Asks Russia to Lower Grain Price for the Sake of “Fair Competition”

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Josep Borrell did not ask Russia to lower the price of grain for the sake
of "fair competition". In public speeches, the diplomat has said Russia is
causing a global food crisis and that Moscow's actions would lead to a
global rise in prices.

Read MoreFake: EU Asks Russia to Lower Grain Price for the Sake of “Fair Competition”

Fake: Wikipedia Article Shows Kyiv Knew in Advance Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral Strike

Information about the destruction of the Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral
appeared in the Wikipedia article about the church shortly after it became
clear which buildings were damaged by the Russian attack on Odesa during
the night of July 23. Ukrainian Wikipedia administrator Anatoliy Lutsyuk
explains that the editing history of Wikipedia uses UTC time, which
currently is three hours ahead of Kyiv time.

Read MoreFake: Wikipedia Article Shows Kyiv Knew in Advance Odesa Transfiguration Cathedral Strike

Fake: Russia Has Never Used Cluster Bombs Against Ukraine

Numerous reports from international human rights organizations prove that
since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has
regularly deployed cluster bombs against Ukrainian civilians and Ukrainian
civilian infrastructure. One such cluster munitions attack was the April
8, 2022, Russian missile strike on the Kramatorsk railway station, which
killed at least 58 civilians and injured some 100 people.

Read MoreFake: Russia Has Never Used Cluster Bombs Against Ukraine
Illustration of a hand putting a ballot into a ballot box.

No, Zelensky hasn’t “canceled” Ukrainian elections

Accusations have circulated on social media that President Zelensky of Ukraine has cancelled elections in Ukraine, and extended martial law in order to remain in power.

In fact, holding elections now, under wartime conditions, would almost guarantee another Zelensky victory. It would also be illegal under Ukrainian laws that predate Zelensky's time in power.

Read MoreNo, Zelensky hasn’t “canceled” Ukrainian elections