Old and unrelated visuals of different children are being linked to the Russia-Ukraine crisis (2022) - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 28, 2022
Various photos and videos of different children are being shared as visuals from Ukraine. The visuals are being shared in the context of Russia’s recent announcement of military operations against Ukraine. Let’s fact-check the claim made in the post.
Post 1:
Claim: Recent photo of two Ukrainian children sending off soldiers to fight the Russians.
Fact: It is an old photo. The picture was not taken in the current scenario of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The same photo was found to be posted by the official Facebook account of the ‘Ministry of Defence – Ukraine’ in March 2016. Also, the photo can be seen in the album – ‘Children of War’ (translated from Russian), uploaded by photographer Dmitry Muravsky (‘Дмитрий Муравский’) in 2016.
Post 2:
Claim: Video of a Ukrainian girl standing up to a Russian soldier.
Fact: The video is from 2012. It is neither related to Russia nor Ukraine. The video shows a Palestinian girl expressing anger over an Israeli soldier. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
An extended version of the same video was found to be uploaded on YouTube in 2012. The girl in the video is Ahed Tamimi, a Palestinian girl. More about her and the incident in the video can be read here and here.
Post 3:
Claim: Photo of a girl crying beside a dead body from the recent Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Fact: The photo is from a film named – ‘The Brest Fortress’ (or ‘Fortress of War’). It is not a real-life visual. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The photo can be found on the ‘Wikimedia’ website with the description – “Scene from The Brest Fortress”. It is a Russian-Belarusian war movie (2010). More details about the movie can be found here. Also, the same visual can be seen in the full movie uploaded on YouTube.
Post 4:
Claim: Video of Russian soldiers saving a small child during the battle between the forces of Russia and Ukraine.
Fact: The video is an old one and not related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The video was shot in Iraq. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The same video was posted by the ‘CBS Mornings’ YouTube channel in 2017, with the title – “Dramatic video shows American aid worker rescuing Iraqi child”. More details regarding the incident in the video can be read here.
However, some recent visuals from the current Russia-Ukraine conflict can be seen here and here.
To sum it up, old and unrelated visuals of different children are being linked to the current Russia-Ukraine crisis.