Fake CNN aired a production that Russian soldiers shoot two civilian men
The Russian Defense Ministry and pro-Kremlin telegram channels spread a fake that a CNN video of Russian soldiers killing two civilian men in Kyiv region was allegedly staged. Russian propaganda compared the video to the events in Bucha; they also wrote that the video allegedly included Ukrainian soldiers or "inconsistencies" in the footage (shadow positions, markings on the car, etc.). StopFake fact-checkers took apart all the propagandists' statements in detail:
1. "It's the Ukrainian military" - a lie. Project Important Stories identified one of the military in the video. He turned out to be Dmitry Lapshakov, a 29-year-old resident of the Peschanka settlement in Chita, serving in the military unit 21250-B of the Russian Armed Forces as a mechanic and tank driver. First Deputy Interior Minister Yevgeny Yenin also said that law enforcement officials had already identified the Russian military who killed the two civilians in the video.
2. "Significantly different shadows in the episodes where the Russian military checks documents and shoots men" - manipulation. The two episodes were filmed on different cameras, located in different places, and consequently captured the event from different angles.
3. "The video does not show the second soldier at the time of the shooting" - a lie. The second soldier can be seen in the footage from both surveillance cameras. In the video from the video camera filming the car dealership courtyard, you can see the silhouette of the military man behind the post and his shadow is clearly visible.
4. "The interior of the security station is different in different fragments of the video" - false. The appearance of the room is the same in different fragments of the video.
5. "Inconsistency in military outfit indicates that the video does not show Russian soldiers" - manipulation. The Russian media themselves wrote in May 2022 that the 6B23 body armor "is most commonly seen in the Russian army."
6. "The Russian army does not have a unit called 'Tank Special Forces RUS V,' as written on the minivan." This is true, although the car is not actually military. Factcheckers say that the inscription on the car was made with paint, probably to mark the civilian car as "theirs."