FACT CHECK: Has The U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Been Arrested?
A post shared on Facebook purports U.S. special forces arrested Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink on allegations of money laundering.
Verdict: False
The claim stems from a satirical website. There is no evidence such an arrest took place.
Fact Check:
Kyiv, the Capital of Ukraine and other cities were struck by Russian missiles following the attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge in Crimea, according to CNBC. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a
“new wave of sanctions” against Russia for the attacks in a defiant speech Tuesday, BBC reported.
The Facebook post claims U.S. Special Forces arrested Brink for treason after cyber command had “discovered she had been clandestinely hand-delivering enormous amounts of cash to Ukrainian officials” during the war.
This claim is baseless. There are no credible news reports suggesting that Brink had been arrested. There has been no press release from Brink’s office on the claim nor has any announcement been made through her verified Twitter account or the embassy’s social media accounts. The White House has also issued no statements regarding these allegations.
The post stems from an Oct. 10 article on the Real Raw News website. The site’s “about us” page identifies itself as containing “humor, parody, and satire.” (RELATED: Did CNN Report The Russians Gave Brittney Griner A DNA Test To Determine Her Gender?)
Check Your Fact contacted the U.S. Army for comment and will update this piece if a response is provided.
This is not the first time a satirical article from the website has been promoted as true on social media. Check Your Fact recently debunked a viral post that claimed former CNN host Brian Stelter had been arrested for sex crimes against children.