[FALSE] Does this photo show a cohort of Ukrainian Christians praying amid the Russia–Ukraine war in 2022?

 

Screenshot of the Facebook post.

 

The Claim and Our Verdict

• The claim: A photo was shared Feb. 25, 2022, on Facebook, along with a claim that it shows a cohort of Ukrainian Christians praying amid the Russia–Ukraine war in 2022.
• Fact-checking:
  • The photo was actually shared in an article published Sept. 25, 2019, by International Mission Board (IMB). Its caption reads, “Ukrainians kneel in 2019 and pray in the snow in Kharkov’s city square.” The article claims they were praying amid the upheaval and unrest ongoing since 2014 in Ukraine.
  • The photo has been circulating online since at least three years ago and is not associated with the Russia-Ukraine war that started Feb. 24, 2022.
• Our ruling: We rate the claim as FALSE.

News Brief

A photo was shared Feb. 25, 2022, on Facebook, along with a claim that it shows a cohort of Ukrainian Christians praying amid the Russia–Ukraine war in 2022. The traditional language caption translates to English as, “Although we cannot hold hands with them, we can connect our hearts. It is because we are all connected to Christ, and they are all our members and our neighbors. Let’s join together. May the Lord listen to the prayers. #seeking peace for Ukraine.”

The Russia-Ukraine war broke out Feb. 24, 2022. Based on the contextual information, the claim indicates that the event happened during the Russia-Ukraine war.

As of the issuance of this report, the post had been shared 16 times, and it had received eight comments and 88 likes or reactions.

Fact-checking

A keyword search found the photo was also shared in an article published Sept. 25, 2019, by International Mission Board (IMB). IMB is a century-old Baptist missionary society with headquarters in Richmond, Virginia, United States.

The caption of the photo shared in the IMB article reads, “Ukrainians kneel in 2019 and pray in the snow in Kharkov’s (Kharkiv’s) city square.” The article claims they were praying amid the upheaval and unrest ongoing since 2014 in Ukraine.

According to the release date of the IMB article, the photo has been circulating online since at least 2019. It is not associated with the Russia-Ukraine war that started Feb. 24, 2022.
 

A comparison of the photo shared in the claim (left) and the photo shared in the IMB article (right).

 
Kharkiv, located in northeastern Ukraine, is the second largest city in the country. The city square mentioned in the IMB article is called Freedom Square, one of the city’s landmarks. A search using Google Street View of Freedom Square shows that the white building in the Facebook photo is Derzhprom in Freedom Square. Therefore, the photo was taken in Freedom Square of Kharkov, Ukraine.
 

A comparison of the Google Street View of Freedom Square in Kharkiv (left), and the photo presented in the claim (right).

 

The location of Freedom Square and Derzhprom from Google Maps.