Fact Check: 2014 image of Kyiv's devastated Independence Square falsely linked to ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict
Two photos of the Independence Square in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv – one taken before Russia attacked Ukraine and the other after the invasion – are being widely shared on social media amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
By Tejal Sinha
Hyderabad: Two photos of the Independence Square in Ukraine's capital Kyiv – one taken before Russia attacked Ukraine and the other after the invasion – are being widely shared on social media amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Fact Check
The claim is false.
NewsMeter performed a Google reverse image search that led us to a report by The Atlantic published on 21 February 2014. The report carried the viral image the caption, "An aerial view shows Ukraine's Independence Square during clashes between anti-government protesters and riot police in Kiev, on February 19, 2014."
RT News had also published the photo on 20 February 2015 in a report titled "15 terrifying images from Kiev's 2014 Maidan revolution".
Meanwhile, reports on the clash were also published by The Guardian, BBC News, and The New York Times in 2014.
It is evident that the claim made through the viral post is false. The viral image of the devastated Independence Square of Kyiv, Ukraine, is from 2014 and is not related to the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
