Russian fake about a "rescued" girl from Kostiantynivka debunked by journalists - CSK
Kyiv • UNN
Russian "media" are spreading a fake about the rescue of a 10-year-old girl, but the girl was actually in occupied Shakhtarsk. This is another staged event to justify the occupation.
Russian propaganda is spreading a false story about the alleged rescue of a 10-year-old girl from Kostiantynivka by the Russian military. In reality, the child had been in the occupied territory long before this information appeared. This is reported by the Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security, as conveyed by UNN.
Details
According to the Center, Russian state media, Z-bloggers, and officials are spreading a story that Russian military allegedly rescued a 10-year-old girl who had been living alone in a basement for a long time after the death of her relatives. This story is presented as evidence of the so-called "humanitarian mission" of the occupation army.
However, as journalists from the publication "Agency" note, this version does not correspond to reality. The girl, whom Russian propaganda calls Sofia, was identified in photographs from a social rehabilitation center in occupied Shakhtarsk. She appeared in photos published by the institution on June 5, as well as on June 29, July 2, and July 3. This indicates that the child was at the center long before claims of her alleged "evacuation" from Kostiantynivka.
The CSSC also drew attention to contradictions in the propaganda version itself. Initially, Russian media claimed that the military had found the girl almost a month ago and regularly brought her food. At the same time, in a TASS video report, the child says she has only been in the new place for the first day, creating the impression of a recent "rescue."
The Center emphasized that the Kremlin regularly uses such staged stories to justify the occupation of Ukrainian territories and to shape the image of the Russian army as "liberators." In reality, Russia systematically deports Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories, which international organizations classify as one of the most serious war crimes.