Some old visuals are being linked to the current Russia-Ukraine crisis - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 25, 2022
Update (MARCH 9, 2022):
A video is being shared with a claim that it shows a soldier giving an emotional message to his family during the Russia-Ukraine war.
Claim: Video of a soldier giving an emotional message to his family during the Russia-Ukraine war.
Fact: The video is an old one and does not show a real incident. It is a clip from a short film. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The same clip can be seen in a short film on YouTube. The ‘Dubai International Film Festival’ has posted a similar video on YouTube, in November 2015, with the title – ‘DIFF 2015 – Dialing’. The actor in the video has also clarified multiple times on his Instagram that the video is from his film.
Update (MARCH 8, 2022):
Another video is being shared with a similar claim – “Ukraine soldiers going to war emotional”.
Claim: Video of Ukrainian soldier getting emotional before going to war.
Fact: The video is not related to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. It is an old video. The video shows a US Marine returning home and meeting his newborn baby. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The video was found to be posted by the ‘Today’ show Twitter account in October 2018. Also, the same video can be seen on the ‘NBC News’ website with the title – ‘Marine returns home, meets new baby boy in tearful video’. So, the emotional person in the posted video is not a Ukrainian soldier.
Marine returns home after a 6-month deployment and meets his newborn son for the first time #MorningBoost pic.twitter.com/ggljGpSnkN
Many social users are sharing different images/videos saying that they show heartbreaking visuals related to the current Russia-Ukraine (2022) crisis. The visuals are being shared in the context of Russia’s recent announcement of military operations against Ukraine. Let’s fact-check the claims made in the posts.
Post 1:
Claim: Recent heartbreaking video of Ukrainian soldiers.
Fact: The posted video is not a recent one. Similar visuals can be found in the trailer of a documentary film called ‘The War of Chimeras’ (2017). Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The trailer of a documentary film called ‘The War of Chimeras’ can be watched here. The documentary film was reportedly shot during the years 2014-15. Similar visuals from 2014 can be seen here. The visuals are from Sofia square in Kiev (Ukraine), but are not related to the current crisis.
Post 2:
Claim: Picture of a child injured in the attacks on Ukraine.
Fact: The picture is not from Ukraine. It shows a child injured in the attacks in Syria. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The same photo can be found in the ‘BBC’ article published in January 2018. In the article, the photo has the following description – “At least 25 civilians were reported killed in air strikes in Eastern Ghouta last week”. ‘The Sun’ has also published the same photo and wrote – “An injured child in a Syrian hospital”.
Photo 3:
Claim: Recent photo of Ukrainian Christians praying in the snow for their country in the phase of war.
Fact: While the picture is from Ukraine, it is not a recent one. The same picture can be found on the internet at least from 2019. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The same photo can be found in an article published by the ‘International Mission Board’ on its website in September 2019. The description of the photo is given as – “On Our Knees – Ukrainians kneel and pray in the snow in Kharkov’s city square.”
Photo 4:
Claim: Picture of the day: A man draped in the Ukrainian flag embraces a woman wearing the Russian flag.
Fact: The picture was not taken in the current scenario of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. It is an old photo. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The same photo can be found in ‘The Washington Post’ article published in December 2019. The description of the photo is given as – “Juliana Kuznetsova embraces her fiance at Belarusan singer Max Korzh’s concert in Warsaw on Nov. 27.” More details about the photo can be also read here.
However, several media agencies have reported that civilians were injured in multiple recent attacks by the Russian forces on Ukrainian cities. Some of the visuals of people who were injured in the recent attacks can be seen here, here, and here.
A few images of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in military uniform are also being shared claiming that he is at the forefront alongside the Ukrainian army and fighting against the Russian forces.
Claim: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in military uniform fighting alongside the Ukrainian army.
Fact: These images of Zelensky in military uniform are old and from his different visits to the border regions. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On reverse image search, the first image in the post is found in a Reuters article attributing it to his visit to the Donbass region, Ukraine on 09 April 2021. The second image is found in an article published by the Guardian on 11 April 2021. The third image on reverse search was found on Getty Images that states “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visits the front-line positions of Ukrainian military in Donbass, Ukraine on 06 December 2021.” All this indicates that the images of President Zelensky in military uniform are old and not taken in the aftermath of the Russian armed forces invasion of Ukraine.
To sum it up, these images/videos that show emotional visuals are not related to the current Russia-Ukraine 2022 crisis.