Fact checks

Russia has falsified an obituary of a fallen Ukrainian soldier Russian media outlets, Telegram channels, and bots on X (formerly Twitter) are spreading images of a fabricated obituary for a Ukrainian soldier allegedly named Artem Melnyk. Posts claim that he died on June 15, 2025, and identify him as the boy featured in the well-known 2014 public service video "Ukraine in Every Heart." This claim is false. Russians used graphic editing tools to forge the obituary of a fallen Ukrainian defender. In reality, there is no record of a soldier named Artem Melnyk on the Memorial platform, which documents casualties…

Russian sources have fabricated headlines from Ukrainian local media Russian media outlets, Telegram channels, and bots on the social media platform X are circulating what appears to be a screenshot of a headline from a regional online publication in the Sumy region. The headline falsely claims that incidents of looting by Ukrainian military personnel have increased in border communities of the region. This claim is fake. The article published by the outlet Sumski Debaty was titled "Looting incidents increase in border areas of the Sumy region." There is no mention — either in the headline or the text — of…

Russian propaganda continues efforts to disrupt mobilization in Ukraine Russian media, Telegram channels, and bots on the social media platform X are circulating a photo of an ATM, allegedly taken in a Ukrainian city. The image shows an error message on the screen reading: "Your card will be retained by the ATM. For details, contact your military enlistment office." This is fake news. The ATM screen image was digitally altered using graphic editing software. The error code shown on the screen — ST200944 — is real, but it appears in an unrelated ATM error photo that has been circulating online…

Russian sources have circulated fake ads, falsely claiming to be from Ukraine's Ministry of Defense and 3rd Assault Brigade Russian media outlets posing as Ukrainian, along with Telegram channels and bots on the social platform X (formerly Twitter), have been sharing what appears to be an Instagram ad for a supposed "18-24 contract" from the 3rd Assault Brigade. The image features a young man in work clothes carrying a military-style backpack, with the caption: "Back pain again and the foreman still isn't paying?" and a link prompting users to "submit an application." The brigade's logo is also included, suggesting the…

Russia has fabricated an audio track of an interview with the commander of the Third Army Corps Russian Telegram channels are circulating a video featuring the commander of the Third Army Corps, Andrii Biletskyi. In the video, he allegedly claims to have been present during the transfer of fallen soldiers' bodies and states that the Ukrainian authorities deliberately avoid identifying the bodies to avoid paying compensation to the soldiers' families. This is fake news. Biletskyi has never said that the Ukrainian government intentionally avoids identifying fallen soldiers. The video was edited using artificial intelligence. An audio file mimicking Biletskyi's voice…

Russians have faked a video featuring Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna Russian Telegram channels are circulating a video with the logo of the Freedom TV channel. In the clip, an audio commentary is supposedly given by Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olga Stefanishyna. She allegedly tells journalists that she wants to legally ban women of childbearing age — specifically those aged 18 to 27 — from leaving the country, supposedly to "preserve the gene pool." This is fake news. First of all, Freedom TV broadcasts in Russian and is aimed at providing truthful information about the…

Russians faked a Fox News article Russian Telegram channels are circulating a screenshot allegedly showing a news article from the website of the U.S. news channel Fox News. The headline reads: "Zelenskyy showed up at the NATO summit wearing a suit and hoping to get Trump's attention but failed again." This is fake. No such article exists on the official Fox News website or its social media pages. None of the articles on Fox News discussed the attire of the Ukrainian president. A few pieces do show photos of Volodymyr Zelensky wearing a suit, but only in the context of…

Russia continues its attempts to discredit Ukrainian defenders Russian Telegram channels are circulating a screenshot of a post from a local Kharkiv media outlet. The headline falsely claims that a Ukrainian soldier hit two elderly women at a pedestrian crossing. The message accompanying the screenshot names a serviceman from the 80th Air Assault Brigade as the alleged perpetrator. This is fake news. The screenshot is a doctored version of an article from the "Sho?! Novyny" outlet. The original report clearly states that the suspect in the incident is a woman, not a soldier. The Main Department of the National Police…

Russian propaganda is attempting to discredit Vasyl Maliuk A video has been circulating on TikTok showing a luxury sports car with Ukrainian license plates. The caption claims it is a McLaren 720S supposedly driven by the sons of Vasyl Maliuk, head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). This is false. First, it is not even publicly known if Maliuk has any children, let alone sons. Details about his family are not available. Second, the same car appears in other TikTok videos, where it is identified as belonging to Viktor Mandziak, a Ukrainian blogger and fitness trainer. In one video,…

Zmist is fighting russian propaganda since day 1. The number of fakes disproven: 239. Main narratives: russia is defending itself against NATONATO and the EU are orchestrating a global food crisisThe US was developing bioweapons in Ukraine and NigeriaPoland is planning to capture western UkraineThe Ukrainian army is destroyed, russian victory is closerussians don’t commit war crimes, Ukrainians doSanctions against russia are destroying EuropeThe world is dominated by russophobia Goals evolution: We are not going to attack, we want to conduct a military exerciseWe would like to replace the Ukrainian government and denazify UkraineWe wish to demilitarize Ukraine to ensure…