Old image shows Ukrainians praying to mark 2014 separatist attacks, unrelated to current conflict
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on February 25, 2022 at 17:22
- Updated on March 4, 2022 at 08:23
- 3 min read
- By Mary KULUNDU, AFP Kenya
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On February 20, 2022, a Nigerian Facebook page with more than 200,000 followers shared the image of people kneeling together in the snow with a caption reading: ”Ukrainian Christians pray outdoors, in the snow, for their country in this phase of war danger".
The post has since been shared more than 350 times. Dozens more like it have appeared elsewhere in Africa, including in Kenya and Ghana.
The claim has also circulated in German.
However, AFP Fact Check found the photo is unrelated to Russia's invasion of Ukraine this week.
Old image
A reverse image search led to a 2019 article published by the International Mission Board (IMB), a Baptist missionary society. The story included the photo, which is accredited to the IMB.
The same content is found on its official Facebook page. Contacted by AFP Fact Check, the IMB confirmed that it owned the image.
According to the organisation, the photo shows Ukrainians in the Kharkiv city square holding daily public prayers – as they had done so for five years – after Russian separatists attacked the country in March 2014.
The move was followed by Russia's annexation of Crimea, sending tensions soaring between the two countries.
Geolocation of the area showed that the picture was indeed taken at Kharkiv city square, also known as Freedom Square. We compared the image being shared in the misleading post to a street view from Google Maps and matched the buildings in the background.
While this particular picture is a few years old, CNN posted a video on February 24, 2022, of people seen praying in Kharkiv's square – without snow – as Russia began attacking Ukraine.
Russian invasion
Russia launched a full-scale ground invasion and air assault in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, forcing civilians to shelter underground and displacing more than 100,000 people.
Weeks of diplomacy failed to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin, who amassed more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine's borders in what western leaders called Europe’s biggest military build-up since World War II.
Putin’s move has been condemned globally, with EU leaders agreeing to punish Moscow by imposing “severe” sanctions targeting its financial, energy and transport sectors.
February 28, 2022 This article has been updated to add metadata
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