Recently, several images have been circulated on social media claiming that there was a “BREAKING NEWS: A horrific terrorist attack and arson took place at the U.S. embassy office located in front of the Bangladesh embassy in Belarus… Some parts of the embassies of Bangladesh and Norway have been damaged.”
See a Facebook post promoting such a claim here (Archive).
Fact-Check
The Rumor Scanner Team’s investigation found that the circulated images do not depict any recent attack near the Bangladesh embassy or the U.S. embassy in Belarus. Instead, they show scenes from Russian missile attacks on Ukraine in 2024 and 2022.
Among the six circulated images, the first five were found on various media outlets including U.S.-based Associated Press (AP), Qatar-based Al Jazeera, Ukraine-based Kyiv Post, and other local and international outlets: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Reports confirm that all five images are from the aftermath of Russian missile strikes on Ukraine on December 20, 2024. These media sources include one or more of the five images in their respective articles.
Additionally, some of the images show watermarks of Kyiv City’s military administration. Based on this, further review of their Telegram channel confirmed that several of the photos circulated with the false claim were published as visuals from missile strikes in Kyiv on December 20, 2024.
To verify if any embassies were damaged in the attack, a keyword search led to a report published on December 21 by mainstream media outlet The Daily Star. The report stated: “Russia launched a missile attack on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Six foreign embassy buildings were damaged… Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that diplomatic missions of Albania, Argentina, North Macedonia, Palestine, Portugal, and Montenegro in Kyiv were affected.” It should be noted that Bangladesh has no embassy in Ukraine.
Upon performing a reverse image search of the sixth image, it was found in an October 10, 2022 article on Ukraine-based Kyiv Post. Comparing the two images shows clear similarities.
The report states that the image depicts a scene in Kyiv after a missile strike. The same image was also circulated the same day by Russian outlet Moscow Times claiming it to be from Ukraine.
Furthermore, keyword searches did not yield any credible evidence from reliable sources supporting the claim that there was a recent attack near the Bangladesh or U.S. embassy in Belarus. It is worth noting that due to Russian attacks on Ukraine from Belarusian territory, the U.S. embassy in Minsk has been suspended since February 28, 2022. Also, Norway does not have an embassy in Belarus.
Conclusion
Images of Russian attacks on Ukraine from 2024 and 2022 have been falsely circulated as depicting a recent attack near the U.S. embassy close to the Bangladesh embassy in Belarus.
Sources
- Associated Press (AP) – A Russian official says a Ukrainian strike with US-supplied missiles kills 6
- Al Jazeera – One killed in Kyiv as Russian missile attack targets Ukraine’s capital
- VOA Bangla – রাশিয়ার ব্যালিস্টিক ক্ষেপণাস্ত্র কিয়েভের কূটনৈতিক মিশনগুলির ক্ষতিসাধন করেছে
- Kyiv Post – Russian Ballistic Missiles Barrage Targets Kyiv, Causes Widespread Damage
- Glavkom – Ракетна атака РФ на столицю: кількість поранених та загиблих зросла (оновлено)
- Diario de Mexico – Rusia lanza misiles balísticos y Kinzhal contra Kiev y mata a una persona
- The Daily Star – কিয়েভের ৬ দূতাবাসে রাশিয়ার ক্ষেপণাস্ত্র হামলা
- Kyiv Post – Missile Strikes on Many Cities of Ukraine
- Moscow Times – Putin Vows More ‘Severe’ Attacks After Russian Missiles Batter Ukraine
- Vikna TV – Ранок — із балістики: вибухи у Києві сьогодні, є жертва
