FACT CHECK: Viral Post Claims Ukrainian Troops Are Surrendering By The Thousands

A post shared on Facebook claims to show mass surrenders among Ukrainian troops.

Verdict: Unsubstantiated

There is no evidence for this claim beyond Russian state media outlets. The image also is from April 2022.

Fact Check:

Western powers warned that they are running out of ammunition to supply Ukraine with, according to BBC News. Ukraine fires thousands of rounds a day, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Russia Today Headline Claiming Prigozhin’s Pilot Had Post-Vaccine Myocarditis Is Fabricated)

The Facebook post claims that Ukrainian troops are surrendering en masse. The post reads, “Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are opting to surrender to the Russian Army. These surrenders were seen even through a newly established Russian radio frequency.”

However, the evidence for this claim comes from Russian state media outlets, such as TASS and RT, with the main evidence appearing to be an anonymous source cited by TASS. Check Your Fact could not find any other western outlets reporting on any mass surrendering from Ukrainian troops, with fact-checking outlet Snopes rating the claim as “unfounded.”

Check Your Fact also reviewed reports from the Institute of the Study of War (ISW), a non-partisan think tank, and did not find any details about an alleged Ukrainian mass surrender. For example, ISW’s Oct. 2 report does not make any note of any mass Ukrainian surrender.

“Ukrainian forces marginally advanced in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area amid continued counteroffensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast and near Bakhmut on October 2,” reads the ISW’s report.

Furthermore, the image in the Facebook post is from April 2022 and claims to show Ukrainian marines surrendering in Mariupol, according to Reuters. The video has not been independently verified by Reuters. Check Your Fact could not verify the veracity of the video.

Note: This article rating may change depending on whether or not evidence emerges of Ukrainian troops mass surrendering. 

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