Is it true that the Ukrainians falsified the report on the shelling of the maternity hospital in Mariupol?

In the Russian media, Telegram channels and social networks on March 10, 2022, numerous materials appeared, exposing personnel shot on the eve of the explosions next to a medical institution in Mariupol. We tried to figure out whether the production really took place and the report was falsified.

For example, a fragment of the broadcast of the TV channel "Russia 24" was published On the Vesti.ru website, under the heading of the Ukrainian model, they suspected a fake about the maternity hospital in Mariupol. " “Users of social networks suspected the Ukrainian beauty blogger Marianna Podgurskaya in the filming of staged photographs against the backdrop of the supposedly destroyed maternity hospital in Mariupol,” the material said. "Russian newspaper" Placed On her site, a note called “The next fake of the West: a woman shot in the Mariupol maternity hospital turned out to be a fashion model in makeup.” "Komsomolskaya Pravda" told To his readers about “The next fake from Ukrainian propaganda: in all photographs from the destroyed maternity hospital the same girl in different clothes, and the same photographer took all the pictures.” Later, this description of the incident was supported by Russian departments: the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Igor Konashenkov declaredthat "allegedly taking place of air jacket is a fully directed provocation to maintain anti -Russian excitement from the Western audience."

In the afternoon of March 9, 2022, Mariupol City Council reportedthat Russian aviation "purposefully bombed a children's hospital in Mariupol." The message was accompanied by several videos, on which destroyed buildings and destroyed cars are visible (one of them continues to burn). Also, people appear in the videos, mainly in the background. A sunsid voice on one of the videos says that in front of the audience "3rd Hospital of Mariupol, the hospital." The author of another video pronounces: "Artobes ... maternity hospital." In this video first carry Someone on a stretcher, then two men lead a pregnant woman to meet the author. In the background - two dozen people leaving the three -story building.

Soon in the official Telegram channel of President Vladimir Zelensky appeared The video shot inside the building (probably the same police officer or rescue service, who made the second video mentioned above). On the record, negotiations on the radio are heard - about who is doing what is being done now and who should do something next, the destroyed rooms, broken glass, flying plaster, beds, mattresses, and tables are visible. There was almost no medical equipment in the frame, injured people too. Behind the scenes the voice of the shooter is heard: “Aviation worked on the maternity hospital. Here you have the Russians. ”

In the evening of the same day, first again in Telegram, and then in large Western media a series of photographs appeared, made At the place of events, the famous Ukrainian photorepector Evgeny Monocchio for the Associated Press (AP, one of the largest and most respected news agencies in the world). Pictures of the youngster in the morning of March 10 analyzed the anonymous Telegram channel “Signal” (now he has more than 493,000 subscribers, he supports Russian special operation). It was after this that the refutation of the Ukrainian fake was distributed in infrastructure of pro-government blogs and Telegram channels.

Let's take a consistently analyze all the arguments of the authors of the refutation.

""Signal" discovered The girl that photographers photographed on the ruins of the maternity hospital in Mariupol. She turned out to be a model and popular in Mariupol Beauty blogger. Her name is Marianna Podgurskaya. The girl is really pregnant ... "

Everything here is true. The heroine of the filming is the name of Marianna Podgurskaya (in the marriage of Vysoshemir), she leads a page on Instagram, and at the time of shooting she was really pregnant. Subsequently, the pro-government Russian media deliberately paid attention to the family of Pogurskaya (beauty blogger), hinting, obviously, that she was used to participating in the filming. However, this fact itself cannot serve as evidence of falsification: a woman of any profession can be a pregnant woman, a woman of any profession can be in the hospital if she is pregnant.

“The girl is really pregnant, but could not lie in the hospital, for a long time occupied by neo -Nazis from Azov. <...> March 8 came out interview With one of the employees of the hospital. She said that Azov drove all the staff and patients from there and occupied the building. March 5 was Fixedthat from the territory of the same maternity hospital, the Azov militants are conducting shelling

These statements look solid, but in fact they are not backed up. IN Report On the pro -government Russian website Lenta.ru, which refers to the “signal”, there is such a fragment: “Igor said that in the last days of February, the maternity hospital where his mother works, people in uniform came. He does not know that these were the fighters of the Armed Forces (the Armed Forces of Ukraine. - Approx. Ed.) Or the nationalist battalion "Azov" (banned in the Russian Federation). The military shot down all the castles, dispersed the staff of the hospital, and in the building they arranged firing points, so that they explained to doctors, to prepare for the defense the "Fortress Mariupol". "

We do not know who Igor is and whether he is telling the truth, but let's say that yes. However, even in this case it is impossible to understand what specifically the maternity hospital is talking about - in Mariupol there are several of them.

The second source of the "signal" - note The state news agency RIA Novosti, which provides the words of the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Major General Igor Konashenkov: “For the units of the national police, the militants of the Azov and Aidar national police entered the city are fired from the standpoint equipped in schools, hospitals, maternity hospitals and kindergartens.” But Konashenkov did not name the numbers of the maternity hospitals, from where the fire was supposedly conducted. So, even if you believe the Russian propaganda about the fact that Azov took some kind of maternity hospital Mariupol, it does not follow from this that it is the maternity hospital where Marianne Podgurskaya was removed. 

The specific number of the allegedly captured maternity hospital on March 7 (two days before the shelling, which is discussed in this material), during the speech at the UN, was called the representative of Russia in this organization Vasily Neenzya. With reference to local residents, he said: "Having drove the entire staff of the maternity hospital No. 1 of the city of Mariupol, the Armed Forces of Ukraine equipped a firing position in it." A few days later, explaining what happened in Mariupol, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (referring to Nebenism) saidthat "this maternity hospital has long been captured by the Azov battalion and other radicals."

However, the maternity hospital No. 1 and the maternity ward of the hospital No. 3 are different institutions located in different areas of Mariupol. At the same time, according to photographs and videos that neighboring houses came to, you can for sure installThat the city hospital No. 3 was subjected to the attack. And even if the story about Azov, who allegedly occupied the maternity hospital No. 1, is reliable, this in itself could not affect the work of relevant institutions of the city. After all, many residents remained in Mariupol, despite the siege, and no one can prohibit women on time even in war conditions.

“The same model played in three episodes".

The essence of the argument, apparently, is that if it were not a staging, there would be different girls in all photographs. “In all photographs from the destroyed maternity hospital, the same girl in different clothes,” - Adds "Komsomolskaya Pravda." Indeed, in two of the three photographs in a “signal” selection (one of them was made by Evgeny Manylet, the second - by the other reporter of AP Mstislav Chernov), we see Marianne Podgurskaya. But in the third photo (a wounded pregnant woman on a stretcher), she is not depicted. This can be seen with the naked look.

But even better it is visible on the other video (2:17), to which the authors of the "signal" do not pay attention. This video was shot by the above photo and video reporter AP Mstislav Chernov. The four -minute video captures many people and different situations, you can see the remains of medical equipment on it. In addition, for a few seconds, Podgurskaya got there (3:10).

At the same time, this video responds to another argument Supporters of the version of the production, according to which “on the frames taken after the rocket hit next to the hospital, there is not a single victim” (on this video you can see the scale of destruction and the injured from shelling). In addition, it is quite difficult to imagine who in a besieged city, which is under constant shelling, could organize such a large -scale and complex staging.

What in the end

Allegations of staged and directed personnel do not withstand any criticism and certainly do not correspond to reality. The spread of this information through anonymous Telegram channels and pro-government media outlets looks intentional to manipulate public opinion. Photos and videos that captured the consequences of shelling on March 9 in Mariupol are made by professional journalists who work for one of the most respected information agencies in the world. Independent media does not participate in the information war, their task is to honestly and incredibly cover events.

So far, we do not know exactly who exactly and where the shelling of the maternity ward of the hospital No. 3 of Mariupol made. However, we assume that one day someone will bear real responsibility for this.

Correction of March 14, 2022: In the original publication, it was mistaken that both photographs of Marianne Pogurskaya were taken by the reporter Evgeny Menletka. In fact, one of them belongs To another photographer, Mstislav Chernov. The text of the analysis before making corrections is available by link.

Not true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Fakes about what is happening in Ukraine
2. Fakes about what is happening in Ukraine. Part 2
3. Fakes about what is happening in Ukraine. Part 3
4. Fakes about what is happening in Ukraine. Part 4
5. Stopfake.org. Fake: The injured women in labor as a result of the shelling of the maternity hospital in Mariupol - this is the production