2021 Video of Mass Graves in Russia Predates the War
The Claim
Russia dug up mass graves for 200 Russian soldiers who died while fighting in Ukraine.
News posted on
Emerging story
A video depicting mass graves being dug up, is circulating on social media. The accompanying claim is that these graves were dug up in Russia for the burial of 200 Russian soldiers who died while fighting in Ukraine.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar's team investigated the claim and found it to be misleading. Using Google translate, the audio in the video was translated from Russian to English, “Preparations are underway for a mass grave. The fourth wave [of the coronavirus] is ahead.” After using relevant keywords search (translated into Russian), the video was found uploaded on Youtube in October 2021 as can be seen below, with the caption: “Graves are being dug in Surgut on October 9, 2021.”
This confirms that the video predates the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Furthermore, investigations from local news sources revealed that the undertakers usually dig graves before the winter months. This practise is less labour intensive as the ground becomes frozen hard and dry during the cold winters.
Therefore, based on these findings, Misbar's team confirms that the video is unrelated to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The video merely shows preparations for the winter months in order to keep labour and the cost of burials under control.
