Did Czech President Petr Pavel say that Russia will win the war in Ukraine? No, that's not true: An interview with the president by Czech public radio was edited so that the president's statement was taken out of context. Pavel did say the words in the interview, but not in that order or context. The claim appeared in a video…

Did Russia kill several French "officers" or "mercenaries" during an attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine, in January 2024? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support the Russian claim, and French officials dismissed it as part of a Russian disinformation campaign, saying the names of the alleged French victims circulating on Russian Telegram channels had been previously reported in…

Was American Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin killed in Kyiv during a Russian missile attack on January 3, 2024? No, that's not true: Lloyd Austin was hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC between January 1 and January 15, 2024, for treatment of an infection related to a prostate cancer operation. The claim appeared in a video (archived…

Did the Czech Republic not participate in a December 2023 meeting of the United Nations Security Council called by Russia because its ambassador was in Prague? No, that's not true: Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky decided the Czech Republic would not take part in the UN meeting because he considered it part of Russian propaganda efforts aimed at spreading lies.…

Has the European Union's policy of becoming carbon neutral by 2050, the Green Deal, caused the energy crisis that has led to a rise in prices in the European Union in recent years? No, that's not true: The European Union is facing an energy crisis because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The claim appeared in a video (archived here)…

Did an international outcry occur from foreign media questioning a Ukrainian flag at Prague's Faculty of Arts, as seen in images of the mass shooter who killed 14 and injured 25 in December 2023? No, that's not true: Major foreign media reports on the incident do not acknowledge the presence of a Ukrainian flag alongside the Czech flag. The claim…

Is most of Ukraine safe enough, with discos and full shops, for refugees to return to? No, that's not true: Russian missiles and drones are regularly fired at civilian targets in the capital Kyiv and across the country, resulting in civilian casualties in locations far removed from frontline fighting. The wartime economic condition means refugees may not find Ukraine a…

Is Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala related to the Czech entrepreneur Tomas Fiala, who does business in Ukraine? No, that's not true: The government office denied that the two are related and said that Petr Fiala is not even acquainted with the businessman. Fiala is a relatively common Czech surname. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok…

Does the Czech Republic cover travel expenses for Ukrainian refugees visiting relatives in their home country? No, that's not true: The Czech government has approved a bill that extends the temporary protection status for Ukrainian refugees, and also introduces help in purchasing tickets and covering some other travel expenses for refugees who decide to return to Ukraine permanently, despite the…

Is the Czech government reneging on its promise to wean the country off its dependence on Russian gas because some traders have started buying gas that is likely of Russian origin in late 2023? No, that's not true: the Czech Republic has shifted nearly all natural gas purchases to producers in Norway and the Netherlands using pipelines in Germany to…

Did Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova leave the country vulnerable by dispatching all Czech weapons to Ukraine? No, that's not true: Cernochova stated, both on a Czech state television program and in parliamentary discussions, that the country had depleted only the military resources earmarked for Ukraine. Furthermore, the Czech Republic is set to receive military equipment and financial support from…

Is Ukraine the most corrupt country in the world? No, that's not true: Ukraine ranks among the top third most corrupt nations in the world in terms of perceptions of public sector corruption, and yet it ranks above 54 countries in one leading corruption index and above 61 countries in a second index. The story appeared in a video (archived…

Is the population of Ukraine down to 19 million people in November 2023 because 4 million people left the country in the last two months? No, that's not true: The population of Ukraine in November 2023 was 37 million. According to the latest available data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are over 6 million refugees outside…

Does Ukraine send pregnant women to the frontline to fight Russians? No, that's not true: Pregnant women and women on maternity leave or caring for small children or children with special needs are exempted from registering for military service. They also have the right to be released, if already serving in the military, when they get pregnant or under other…

Are Czechs filling up with costly diesel imported from the U.S. that's produced from cheap Russian crude oil? No, that's not true: The diesel imported into the Czech Republic by the Czech state-controlled fuel distributor CEPRO, which is also in charge of the state emergency reserves, is produced in Louisiana. U.S. sanctions currently forbid U.S. refineries and importers from importing…

Did Czech President Petr Pavel say that sooner or later Ukraine will lose the war and Russia will win? No, that's not true: It's not Pavel's real voice in the TikTok video, and the video description admits it. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) by @pepekarna on TikTok on October 4, 2023. It shows Pavel saying (translated to…

Did Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, sing the Russian national anthem as seen in a TikTok video? No, that's not true: The video has been edited. In the original footage from November 2022, Zelenskyy can be seen and heard singing the Ukrainian national anthem in newly liberated Kherson. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok where it…

Is Switzerland planning to deport tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees? No, that's not true: The government has taken note of a provisional strategy elaborated by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) in collaboration with cantonal (provincial) authorities, that outlines how Switzerland will deal with refugees once it is safe for them to return home and the procedure of lifting…

Does Olena Zelenska, first lady of Ukraine, hold a Russian passport that Russians found in the apartment and she and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have in Yalta, Crimea? No, that's not true: The photo on her purported Russian passport shown in a social media claim comes from an Instagram post from March 20, 2023, while the passport states it was…

Did the Czech government spend 100 billion Czech koruna to care for Ukrainian refugees? No, that's not true: The government claims it spent a third of that amount to care for Ukrainian migrants following the 2022 Russian invasion of their territory, and it points out that a third of the migrants currently work, paying taxes and adding to the overall…