Ukraine water sprinklers predate Russian invasion, US wartime assistance

Published on August 11, 2023 at 21:53
Updated on August 11, 2023 at 22:19
6 min read
By Bill MCCARTHY, AFP USA

Social media users are claiming a video shows Ukrainians in Kyiv cooling off under a water spray system set up during the war. This is false; the city's use of sprinklers predates Russia's invasion in February 2022.

"Kyiv has a fancy new mister system throughout the city! How is Ukraine in the middle of a war nicer than the United States," said social media personality Matt Wallace in an August 9, 2023 post on Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X."

Another post says: "Look at how beautiful Ukraine is ? Misters throughout the city so the ppl stay cool. Paid for by you, the American tax payer. What happened to the war ?"

Screenshot from Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X," taken August 10, 2023

Screenshot from Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X," taken August 10, 2023

Similar posts sharing the same footage, which shows machines blasting mist as pedestrians traverse a busy sidewalk, spread across TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. They come as the United States continues to supply military assistance to Ukraine -- and as record-hot temperatures afflict countries around the globe.

It is not clear when the video circulating online was captured, but such misters are not new.

AFP geolocated the footage -- which is flipped horizontally in the posts -- to a stretch of sidewalk running along Khreshchatyk, the main street in Kyiv. The same buildings, trees and structures appear in images captured near Zara and Mango storefronts on Google Maps Street View (archived here and here).

Screenshot from X taken August 10, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

Screenshot from Google Maps Street View taken August 10, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

Screenshot from X taken August 10, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

Screenshot from Google Maps Street View taken August 10, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

By searching for other footage from that area, AFP found a YouTube video uploaded July 9, 2021 (archived here), more than six months before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Screenshots from X taken August 10, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

Screenshot from YouTube taken August 10, 2023, with elements outlined by AFP

The YouTube clip shows what appears to be the same misting system, confirming the sprinklers are neither new nor related to the billions of dollars of aid the United States has given to Ukraine.

Misters also appear near the Zara and Mango stores in a separate YouTube video from August 2021 (archived here).

AFP has captured photos of Kyiv sprinklers dating back to 2019. The sprays also appear in years-old pictures on social media, stock image websites and Ukrainian news sites (archived here, here and here).

People walk under hoses spraying water along the central street of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv during a heatwave on August 13, 2019 ( AFP / Sergei SUPINSKY)

A boy refreshes himself with water spray frames set along the central street of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv during a heatwave on June 25, 2020 ( AFP / Sergei SUPINSKY)

A girl cools down at a water sprinkler in the center of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv during a hot summer day on August 10, 2021 ( AFP / Sergei SUPINSKY)

A man refreshes himself as he walks past a water sprinkler in central Kyiv on June 21, 2023 ( AFP / Sergei SUPINSKY)

AFP could not determine the origin of the misters. But Kyivzelenbud, a municipal organization in charge of parks, posted on Facebook in 2017 about installing similar water sprinkler frames in Kyiv's parks and squares (archived here).

Kyiv is hundreds of miles from the frontlines of the war, according to the Institute for the Study of War (archived here). But Russia has still targeted the city with missile and drone strikes.

AFP has debunked other misinformation about Russia's invasion here.

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