FACT CHECK: Video Does Not Show Mass Surrender Of Ukrainians
A video shared on Facebook claims to show a mass surrender of Ukrainian troops.
Verdict: False
The video shows a prisoner exchange, not a mass surrender of Ukrainian troops.
Fact Check:
Social media users have been sharing a video claiming to show Ukrainian troops surrendering en masse. The video’s caption reads, “Surrendering Ukrainians get to be a part of the future.”
The video, however, shows Ukraine and Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organization, conducting a prisoner swap, not Ukrainian troops surrendering en masse. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found a video with a different angle of the prisoner exchange. The exchange happened in May 2023.
“The Wagner Group exchanged prisoners of war with Ukraine on Thursday, and released a video and drone shots showing men in uniform being passed from one side to another in an unidentified location,” the description partially reads. (RELATED: Pentagon Claims Last Time U.S. Used Cluster Munitions Was In 2003)
The same video was posted by a Telegram channel showcasing Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. The video was geolocated outside of Bakhmut, according to AFP Fact Check. GeoConfirmed, an account that geolocates images and videos in the Russian-Ukrainian war, also reached the same conclusion.
GeoConfirmed UKR.
“Prisoner exchange was conducted near Bakhmut. It is reported that 106 Ukrainian servicemen were returned from captivity. Among them 8 officers and 98 soldiers and sergeants of which many were considered missing.”
48.590852, 37.943743
GeoLocated by @COUPSURE https://t.co/YolzFNaAJI
— GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) May 25, 2023
This is not the first time a false claim about the Russian-Ukrainian war has gone viral. Check Your Fact previously debunked a Twitter video purporting Zelenskyy said he did not know who blew up the Kerch Bridge.
