No, this video does not show a Ukrainian ‘forcibly recruited’ by his country’s army

Published on: 06/17/2022 – 19:50 Since June 15, 2022, Telegram and Twitter users have shared a video showing, according to them, Ukrainian soldiers trying to arrest a young man in order to enlist him by force in the army. But this pursuit has in reality nothing to do with the situation in Ukraine. It was filmed in Russia in 2020 while several health restrictions were in force in the country. Verification in brief Since June 15, Telegram and Twitter users have been sharing a video of a chase between a young man and several people dressed in uniforms. These users claim that the men in uniform would be Ukrainian soldiers trying to enlist the young man by force. In reality, this video has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine. It was filmed in May 2020 in Russia, in the seaside resort of Sochi, and probably shows a man who would not have respected the quarantine period which was then in force. recruiters are trying to kidnap citizens from the street!”. On Telegram and Twitter, several pro-Russian users share this video supposed to show a young Ukrainian escaping the soldiers who came to enlist him by force. According to them, these images would demonstrate the mistrust of the Ukrainians vis-à-vis their army, and their demobilization when the Russian invasion of their country began on February 24th. Screenshot of one of the tweets published on June 15, 2022 and sharing this false information. © Observers But in the comments posted under these publications, several users claim that these images were in fact shot in Russia. A reverse image search (see how to do it here) on Yandex returns several Vkontakte posts from May 18, 2020 that include the same video. These publications claim that it is a chase, which allegedly took place in a hotel complex in Sochi, between members of the Russian National Guard and a young man who allegedly did not respect the quarantine measures which were then in force. The date of this publication immediately excludes the possibility that this video was shot in the context of the conflict in Ukraine. Comparison between the video published on June 15, 2022 and a photograph of the “Velvet Seasons” taken in Sochi. © Observers Several clues also seem to confirm this version. By looking for images of the hotel complex in question: the “Velvet Seasons” located in the Ekaterininsky district of Sochi, we can verify that this video was indeed shot in this hotel complex in Sochi, and therefore confirm that it was therefore not no connection with Ukraine. It is also possible to find photographs of members of the Russian National Guard on online image banks. This search allows you to find the uniforms present in the video. Even if the tint of these uniforms is impacted by the quality and the luminosity of the video, several details, such as the badges and the inscriptions present in the back, make it possible to affirm that they are those of the National Guard Russian. Comparison between the uniforms visible in the video (left), and those of Rosgvardia members photographed in Moscow on July 7, 2018 (right). © Observers Finally, other elements suggest that this video does indeed have a link with the health crisis linked to Covid. We note in fact that several members of the Russian National Guard present on the video wear surgical masks, and we even see people dressed in full anti-covid suits. While the exact date and circumstances in which these images were shot remain unknown, it can nevertheless be said that they were shot in 2020 in Sochi, Russia, when the city was suffering the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, and that they show members of the Russian National Guard trying to arrest a man. This video therefore has nothing to do with the Ukrainian army and the conflict started on February 24, 2022.