The other day, a photograph was widely circulated on social networks and Telegram channels, which allegedly depicted an act of looting by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The photo shows Ukrainian soldiers allegedly removing a washing machine from the premises. We have verified the authenticity of this photo.
In mid-April 2022, a photograph was circulated online showing several soldiers in camouflage with blue armbands, indicating that they belonged to the Ukrainian army. In the photo, two fighters are carrying a washing machine. And according to numerous posts on social networks and Telegram channels, this photo is proof that Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers are engaged in looting.
So, on April 17 on the channel “Turned to Z War” photo posted with the following caption: “Ah-ah-ah, Muscovites are looting! Oh, oh." This entry reposted Vladimir Solovyov, so it collected more than 700,000 views. On the same day, showman Andrei Bocharov shared a photo in his community on VKontakte, and later on personal page and in Telegram channel. He signed it like this: “The Ukrainian soldiers are slowly looting from their own people.” Photos in the public page "YAR" escorted joke that the secrets of the theft of washing machines from stores in Ukraine have now been revealed.
And this is what is happening in the photo explained on the Politicus website: “Ukrainians attribute all their sins to Russian soldiers. This is how their propaganda works. This photo clearly shows how Kyiv militants are dragging a washing machine; they probably need to wash something urgently.”
In the comments to his own post, Bocharov shared with a link to “a large material dedicated to Ukrainian looting” in LiveJournal, where the photo appeared still April 16th. The title of the article reads: “Catch the looters! Soldiers carry a washing machine. And a microwave. And the gate. And chickens. Exclusive. Lots of photos." Below we quote the first paragraph.
Ukrainians have convinced the whole world that Russian soldiers do not fight, but eat parrots and carry around grease-stained microwaves and used washing machines. Who asked for photographic evidence? Here you go, amid the sound of cannonade, the military is carrying a washing machine out of a bombed store... Oh, these are the Ukrainian military.
And then, immediately below the photo, there is a phrase that changes everything: “Okay, this washing machine is being saved.”
If you do a simple image search on Google, you can find the same image, published (if you click on the top left photo, it’s the third one in the gallery) still March 15th. Under the photo, in English, the following is written (hereinafter translated): “Ukrainian soldiers carry a washing machine to help transport goods from a store destroyed after shelling in Kharkov, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 15, 2022.” It is indicated that the photo belongs to the AP agency and was taken by photographer Andrey Marienko. There is actually one on the AP website material, and besides him, there published more pair photos showing soldiers inspecting the store from the inside.
Also a photo with a washing machine There is and in the UNIAN photo bank. There the caption is slightly different: “Police officers and terrorist fighters are moving goods from a store destroyed after shelling in Kharkov to a safe place.” There are also a couple of additional pictures on this site: they show soldiers And Human in civilian clothes, boxes with other goods are taken out of the same store.
Thus, the photo of an international news agency does not depict an act of looting, but the work of the Ukrainian military to save the property of a Ukrainian store that was destroyed during shelling. Since the middle of last month, the photograph illustrates exactly this plot in the international and Ukrainian press.
Image: Andrey Marienko / UNIAN
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