Is there an ongoing operation of the Ukrainian Army to capture and mobilize all men of Bessarabian Bulgarian origin? No, that's not true: There is no evidence or credible reports of such a forced mobilization process focused on Ukrainian citizens of Bessarabian Bulgarian descent. According to the head of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, Rayna Mandzhukova, Bessarabian Bulgarians are…

Did Bulgaria deny Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov permission to fly over its airspace to attend the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in North Macedonia, which took place on November 30 and December 1, 2023? No, that's not true: Bulgaria granted an exception to the EU sanctions against Lavrov, allowing his plane to fly over its…

Does a video on social media show a photo of a burning container ship owned by an Israeli billionaire that was attacked by a suspected Iranian drone on November 25, 2023? No, that's not true: The photo can be traced back to multiple posts from 2019, and it shows a burning oil tanker, not a container ship hit by a…

Did Bulgarian Minister of Defense Todor Tagarev claim that NATO ships will occupy his country's economic zone in the Black Sea? No, that's not true: Tagarev stated that Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey are preparing to launch a joint mine-clearing operation in the Black Sea that will mark the first major collaborative operation by the NATO allies bordering the sea since…

Does a video on social media show an address by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, calling on the Ukrainian army to come out of the trenches and march toward Kyiv to overthrow President Zelenskyy? No, that's not true: The footage shown in the TikTok video is heavily edited and does not correspond to the…

Does a video on social media show soldiers from a Russian military division based in Siberia on their way in 2023 to the Ukrainian front? No, that's not true: The footage shows a group of soldiers from Russia's Tatarstan region in late 2022 marching along a snow-covered road. The claim appeared in a video on TikTok (archived here) published by…

Does a video on social media show Russia and the Russian military intervening on November 5, 2023, to help Gaza? No, that's not true: The footage, which is said to show Russian intervention in Gaza, is a combination of a video from Syria taken no later than 2022 and a video from a stock video website where it was uploaded…

Has Elon Musk restored communication through Starlink Internet after Gaza experienced a near-total blackout on October 27, 2023? No, that's not true: Musk offered his satellite internet service, Starlink, to help the aid organizations working in Gaza, but there is no evidence to suggest that this actually happened. According to the Paltel Group, which provides telecom services in Gaza, the…

Did the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, spend $1.1 million at Cartier in New York in September 2023? No, that's not true: On the date of the Cartier receipt that allegedly proved her jewelry spending in New York Zelenska was in Ottawa, Ontario, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for their visit to the Canadian Parliament and meetings with Prime Minister…

Is it true that call-up military orders have been sent to mobilize the Bulgarian army? No, that's not true: Sending call-up orders is a routine activity of the Central Military District and its structures in Bulgaria. It has nothing to do with the military conflict in Ukraine. It is a routine process of updating the database of people from the…

Has Russia destroyed NATO bases along the Danube River, in Ukraine, bringing the war close to Bulgaria? No, that's not true: There is no evidence or credible reports of such an attack. The same footage used to corroborate the claim circulating on social media has been posted by multiple Russian sources, describing it as an attack carried out by Russian…

Is it true that Bulgaria's new military aid to Ukraine includes about 100 armoured personnel carriers (APC) that belong to Fire Safety and Civil Protection Chief Directorate and that their donation will hinder rescue operations of distressed Bulgarian nationals during disasters and accidents? No, that's not true: The soon to be donated APCs, produced in the 1960s and 1970s, are…

Is President Zelenskyy responsible for burning Bulgarians alive and dousing them with acid, and do the pictures in the video show tied-up and tortured Bulgarians? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support the claim that President Zelenskyy is responsible for committing such crimes, and there is no information to prove that Bulgarians in Ukraine have died in…

Has the monthly allowance for Ukrainian refugees increased from 1,200 to 2,400 Bulgarian lev, and has it become several times higher than the pensions received by Bulgarian pensioners? No, that's not true: Ukrainian refugees who sought shelter in Bulgaria do not receive this amount of aid. According to the Social Assistance Agency and the Bulgarian Council for Refugees and Emigrants,…

Did the US sell eight old scrapped F-16 fighter jets to Bulgaria after it was responsible for the destruction of more than 400 aircraft of the Bulgarian Air Force over the years? No, that's not true: The Bulgarian government has issued an order for a brand-new, state-of-the-art F-16 Block 70 fighter jet, refuting the claims made in the TikTok video…

Did Swedish-made AT-4 anti-tank shoulder-fired missile systems that Sweden and NATO sent to Ukraine end up on the black market and in the hands of a Mexican drug cartel? No, that's not true: Military supplies delivered by NATO to Ukraine are closely monitored and documented. As part of a disinformation campaign, pro-Kremlin propaganda has shared the narrative that weapons delivered…

Did Russia manage to destroy all NATO military aid sent to Ukraine, which is why Ukraine hasn't started a counteroffensive yet? No, that's not true: Russia itself disproved this claim on June 5, 2023, which was approximately six days after the video was posted, when it was reported to have repelled a massive Ukrainian attack. Furthermore, the president of Ukraine,…

Is there evidence that Ukrainian children were taken away from their parents in Europe? No, that's not true: In Bulgaria, there is a widespread belief in claims of mass abduction of children from their parents in EU countries. However, these claims lack substantial evidence. This theme aligns with the broader Russian narrative portraying the West as an adversary of the…

Has former boxing champion Mike Tyson expressed his solidarity with Russia by wearing a tracksuit that had the word "Russia" printed on it? No, that's not true: The photos of Tyson wearing the Russian Olympic team tracksuit were taken in 2005 and are not related to the current conflict in Ukraine. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here)…

Is the plan for Bulgaria to join the Schengen Area related to the war in Ukraine? No, that's not true: The European Union member state is legally obligated to join the Schengen Area when it meets agreed requirements, regardless of its policy towards Ukraine. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on May 16, 2023, the day that…