These Images Are Unrelated to Russia’s Ongoing War on Ukraine
The Claim
The images were taken recently in Mariupol during the Russian war on Ukraine and show a soldier removing the Ukrainian flag from a flagpole and raising the Soviet Union flag.
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Emerging story
Russian television aired a collage of images purporting to show a Russian soldier removing the Ukrainian flag and raising the Soviet Union flag on a flagpole during Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine.
Social media accounts have widely circulated the claim featuring the same collage of pictures on April 18 and 19, 2022. The tweets garnered hundreds of interactions and many comments.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has investigated the claim and found it to be misleading. The images are old and unrelated to Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine.
A Collage of Old Images Repurposed
Using TinEye reverse search tools, Misbar’s team discovered that the images are old and have been circulating since at least 2015.
The pictures also appeared in a clip uploaded to YouTube on March 3, 2015. The video was entitled: “Raising the Soviet flag on Donbas.” It was posted to YouTube with a caption reading: “Prizrak Brigade, Communist militiaman, raises the Soviet flag on freed Debaltsevo.”
Description: The images appeared in a YouTube video uploaded in 2015.
The Separatist ‘Ghost Brigade’ Was Killed in 2015
Prizrak or the Ghost Brigade “has taken part in some of the heaviest battles in Ukraine’s pro-Russian east,” according to news reports. The United States had added the separatist’s name to “a list of people subject to sanctions for their involvement in the crisis, which has left more than 6,200 people dead so far.”
According to a BBC report, Prizrak, whose real name is Alexei Mozgovoi, was killed in May 2015 after a bomb struck his car which was targeted by gunfire, he and six others were killed.
Based on our investigation, the collage of images featuring an alleged soldier removing the Ukrainian flag and raising the Soviet Union flag is old and unrelated to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Putin Claims Success in Mariupol
Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared “success” in Mariupol and told forces not to storm the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance’s site. Although his advisers noted that “Ukrainian fighters were holed up in a steel plant,” Putin claimed the victory in the shattered Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and said he canceled plans to oust the remaining Ukrainians who have refused to surrender. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy denied that Russia had made any new advances.
