The Photo Is From Vasylkiv, Not a Hospital in Mariupol
The Claim
A photo shows the aftermath of the bombing of a children's hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine.
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Emerging story
Recently, media outlets and social media users shared a photo purporting to depict the damage caused by the bombing of a children's hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 9, 2022.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulated claim and found it to be misleading. The image is not related to the bombing that targeted a children's hospital in the city of Mariupol, South-Eastern Ukraine, on March 9, 2022. The photo dates back to February 27, 2022 and shows a building that was destroyed after a missile attack targeted the town of Vasylkiv, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, in the north of the country.
The claim circulated during Ukraine's accusations of Russia's targeting of a Maternity and Children's Hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, March 9, 2022. Three people were killed, and 17 were injured in the bombing. Yet, Moscow denied responsibility for the bombing and called this "fake news". According to the Russian Foreign Minister, the hospital has been converted into a military base for one of the Ukrainian armed battalions. The spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry also denied that a hospital was bombed.
Translated by Ouissal Harize.
