No, a viral photo doesn't show Ukraine surrendering

On Oct. 2, 2023 a post on X with more than a million views claimed Ukraine surrendered to Russia.

The post includes a photo allegedly showing Ukrainian soldiers with their hands up. 

“Breaking: Ukraine Surrendering. The end approaches. Special radio frequency being used so that Ukrainian soldiers can safely surrender to Russian forces. Prepare for #Zelensky to run before capture. Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are opting to surrender to the Russian Army. These surrenders were seen even through a newly established Russian radio frequency. Clayton Morris, an American journalist, expressed his astonishment and said, This is a story the western media does not want you to see,” the post says. 

A reader asked VERIFY if the photo and claims about surrender were real.

THE QUESTION

Does this viral photo show Ukraine surrendering?

THE SOURCES

• Oct. 2, 2023 Facebook post from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
• Russia TV footage distributed by Reuters in April 2022
• RevEye, a reverse image search engine 

THE ANSWER

No, this viral photo doesn't show Ukraine surrendering. The photo dates back to at least April 2022 and is from a video distributed by Russia TV.

WHAT WE FOUND

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022. Since then, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been adamant about his unwillingness to surrender. On Oct. 2, 2023, the same day the viral tweet was shared, Zelenskyy posted a video to Facebook, in which he praises one of his military brigades and says they were going to win against Russia.

“The warriors we are … You are the real power of Ukraine. Well done guys! Glory to all who fight for our state and people! Thank you to all who are helping out! All support for Ukraine, every step to help us will surely return to those who support global security. When Russian aggression loses on our land, the very idea of aggression will be crushed. International law can win only now, only here, only in Ukraine … We are going to win!” Zelenskyy says in Ukrainian. The video has English subtitles. 

Zelenskyy has traveled internationally in the last few weeks to ask allies for continued support to fight Russian aggression. In mid-September, he spoke before the United Nations General Assembly in New York before traveling to Washington, D.C. to speak before Congress as part of his goal to shore up support for additional aid. 

If Ukraine had surrendered to Russia, that would be major international news. But there have been no such announcements from world leaders.

The photo being used in the viral post, which shows men dressed in camouflage and gray clothing with their arms in the air, is not evidence Ukraine has surrendered and admitted defeat in the war against Russia. 

Using RevEye, a reverse image search tool, VERIFY traced the photo to a video from April 13, 2022. The video was distributed by Russian state media, claiming to show Ukrainian soldiers surrendering in the besieged city of Mariupol.

At the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Mariupol was one of the worst hit, with Russian forces attacking for nearly three straight months. More than 20,000 civilians were killed during the siege and an estimated 95% of the city was destroyed, the BBC reported.

VERIFY was unable to confirm if the soldiers seen in the picture were actually surrendering or were captured by Russian forces. VERIFY did find a report from Russian media site, RT published on April 13, 2022, that claims thousands of Ukrainian soldiers were surrendering in Mariupol. However, the Russian government and its operatives have a history of spreading propaganda and launching targeted social media campaigns to spread and enhance a pro-Russia narrative.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.