Fact Check: Does Video Show 'Mass Surrender' of Ukrainian Troops?
Analysis of the frontline in Ukraine suggests that Kyiv's forces have made significant ground against occupying Russian troops in the south and east of the country.
According to the latest battlefield maps published by the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian soldiers are continuing offensive operations in the southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast and eastern Donetsk Oblast, while defending against renewed Russian attacks in the northeastern Luhansk Oblast.
In the chaos, misinformation about the counteroffensive continues.
Ukrainian servicemen of 22nd mechanized brigade operate at a recaptured position near Klyshchiivka village, south of Bakhmut, Donetsk region on July 13, 2023. A video circulated online this week was claimed to show Ukrainian troops in an act of mass surrender. ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP via Getty Images
The Claim
Multiple tweets posted on July 25, 2023, were described as showing the mass surrender of Ukrainian troops. The video shows a column of military vehicles with a line of what appear to be soldiers marching in a single file alongside.
The Facts
The film shared on Twitter, claiming to show Ukrainian prisoners captured in a moment of mass surrender, is an example of deceptive framing.
The footage was taken more than a month ago when the paramilitary Wagner Group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, exchanged prisoners of war with Ukraine.
A Telegram post that included a video of Prigozhin speaking to exchanged soldiers, was posted on May 26, 2023, on an official Wagner Telegram channel. The post includes Russian text (translated via Deepl) states "Exchange of prisoners 25.05.23 Statement by E. V. Prigozhin."
Aerial footage of the exchange can be seen at around 4:40 in the clip.
The same footage was published by a number of media outlets including The Telegraph and The Wall Street Journal.
According to contemporary Ukrainian reports, the Head of the Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak said that it was returning 106 soldiers from Russian captivity.
While footage and claims from Wagner should be treated cautiously, it stands to reason that had the video depicted a mass surrender, then Prigozhin or his representatives would have heralded that fact and not a prisoner exchange.
In short, based on footage from the Wagner Group and other news sources, Newsweek can confirm the aerial footage is not of a Ukrainian mass surrender.
Footage from the conflict has often been misleadingly used, either to cash in on breaking news headlines or spread propaganda.
A film of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky posing in front of a green screen was used last year by Russian state media to suggest that the leader had left Kyiv, a false claim that has been repeated throughout the war.
More recently, Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood was dragged into the misinformation space when a video of him, thought to be a personalized Cameo message, was misused to suggest that he had told Zelensky to seek treatment for drug and alcohol use.
Pro-Russian content creators are not the only ones who have posted misleading video footage on social media. Earlier this month a video of a Russian soldier seemingly blown up as he bashed a tank with an artillery shell went viral, later being shown to have been edited using a fake explosion video effect available via Tik Tok.
The Ruling
False.
The clip shared on Twitter does not show the mass surrender of Ukrainian troops. It was footage taken more than a month ago of a prisoner exchange between Ukraine and the paramilitary Wagner Group.
Video published by news outlets shows Wagner Group leader Yevegny Prigozhin speaking to Russian soldiers thought to be from his troop as the exchange was made.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek Fact Check team
Source: Newsweek
