Russian propaganda telegram channels have been spreading a message that on September 26, 2024, a Russian missile strike on the airfield in Starokonstiantyniv allegedly killed a career US Air Force soldier. As ‘proof’, the propagandists are publishing a corresponding message from a certain Melanie Malwin-Parker, allegedly the soldier’s wife.

However, this is a fake, as reported by VoxCheck. Fact-checkers were unable to find a single account named Melanie Malwin-Parker not only on Facebook, but also on the Internet as a whole.

Also, the photo itself, supposedly of the dead soldier, shows some editing – part of his left ear is missing.

Screenshot of the fake message

In addition, the fake publication, apparently by the wife of a military man, indicates the geolocation as “Altus Air Force Base”. This is a U.S. Air Force base located in Altus, Oklahoma. The official website of the base indicates that the 97th Airlift Wing is located there. It consists of the 58th Transport Squadron, the 54th and 56th Air Refueling Squadrons. The units carry out their tasks on the military transport C-17 Globemaster III and on the KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-46 Pegasus tanker aircraft. The list of equipment does not include the F-16 fighter, so there was no need for a specialist for this base in Ukraine.

Russian propaganda is spreading this fake to fuel the narrative about the alleged presence of “foreign mercenaries” in Ukraine. We previously analyzed disinformation that partners allegedly provided Ukraine with faulty F-16 fighters.