00:00Fact-checking Russian Claims That Ukraine Is Stalling A Prisoner Swap
00:04The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry has claimed that Kyiv is refusing to accept 1,000 captured Ukrainian soldiers as part of a prisoner exchange deal agreed in late July.
00:18Ministry Spokesperson Maria Sakorova accused the Ukrainian government of immorality.
00:24The claims have been amplified by state-sponsored actors and media.
00:28Russia Today has even compiled a list of the 1,000 Ukrainian prisoners allegedly removed from the prisoner exchange on this website.
00:38It cites personal data including date and place of birth as well as military rank.
00:43The state-backed channel has also published a plea purportedly from the prisoners removed from the exchange calling on Zelensky not to selectively choose which prisoners to release.
00:55This TASS article claims all 1,000 were low-ranking soldiers rather than high-ranking officers.
01:02But no evidence has emerged to back these claims and they bear the tell-tale signs of a propaganda campaign.
01:08Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation, which is a government agency, had said this is part of a disinformation campaign aimed at disrupting the prisoner exchange.
01:18It says Moscow has fabricated testimonies from the soldiers as part of a propaganda push.
01:24We were unable to independently verify the names of the 1,000 soldiers that Moscow claims have been removed from the planned prisoner swap.
01:32But the campaign fits within Russia's disinformation playbook.
01:36Ukraine says any delays in the prisoner swap are caused solely by Russia.
01:40And President Zelensky said last week that work to determine the names of the prisoners to be released is ongoing.
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