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How a misleading video suggests the Russian army's favorable reception at Avdiivka
After the recapture of the Ukrainian town of Avdiivka by Russian forces, Moscow is trying to progress by retaking other localities in the Donetsk region.
One of the challenges of pro-Russian propaganda consists of presenting these territorial gains as new steps towards the liberation of populations.
In this sense, on social networks, a video is circulating suggesting wrongly that the Russian troops are welcomed with open arms by the inhabitants of the small Ukrainian town.
These images, believed to have been filmed in Avdiïvka, show Russian soldiers being cheered on the streets of Dmitrovsk, Russia, in 2022. © Screenshots/ RFI Montage
By: Olivier Fourt Follow |
Grégory Genevrier Follow
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The video was widely shared by pro-Russian or anti-Western accounts on social networks.
The scene is filmed through the windshield of a bus filled with Russian soldiers.
As he drives through town, he is stopped by dozens of civilians who cheer the soldiers and offer them gifts and food.
Please note, this video is taken out of context.
Footage showing how local people in Avdeevka meet Russian soldiers ❤️🙏🫡 pic.twitter.com/dCb0n9aG5X
— Roberto (@UniqueMongolia) February 21, 2024
In Avdiivka, it is estimated that last week only a few thousand inhabitants remained out of the 34,000 that the industrial city had
before the Russian offensive in recent months
.
Still on this video, we see civilians waving flags with the emblems of the Soviet Union or the Russian marines.
The comments all have the same tone:
“This is how the population of Avdiivka welcomes the Russian soldiers!
".
This anti-Western open account falsely claims that the population of Avdiivka cheered the Russian troops when they arrived.
© screenshot
In reality, several details do not fit with this version.
The street that is shown on the screen is in good condition.
However, we know that the industrial city was ravaged by months of fighting.
Then, the road is dry and the snow has completely disappeared although there were still traces of it on the videos broadcast in recent days.
But above all, Internet users managed to find images of the same scene filmed from another angle, in April 2022.
Video found on YouTube showing residents of the city of Dmitrovsk in Russia cheering their country's troops in April 2022.
In this extract, filmed this time from a Russian military truck, we find identical buildings, the same audience, the same symbols and the same parked bus bearing the inscription ZV in support of the operation launched two years ago by Vladimir Putin .
Comparison of the two videos shows that these images were filmed in the same place, in Dmitrovsk, at the same time, in April 2022. © Screenshots/ Montage RFI
Verification made, the video dates from April 2022. Internet users managed to geolocate the scene, filmed in the city of Dmitrovsk in Russia, more than 600 kilometers from Avdiivka.
This video was therefore taken out of context and has nothing to do with Avdiivka's recent shooting.
Geolocation of the scene.
GeoLocation: https://t.co/KULQwrjrBv
— GeoConfirmed (@GeoConfirmed) February 21, 2024
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