Fact-check graphic by DFRAC debunking a viral claim suggesting Ukraine is fabricating combat scenes to secure financial aid from the U.S. The image includes two screenshots of social media posts, one from Twitter showing a soldier lying on the ground with a 'MISLEADING' label over it. The second screenshot appears to show a staged military scene. The fact-check headline confirms that the claim is misleading. DFRAC logo is visible in the top-right corner.

Fact Check: Viral Claim Suggests Ukraine is Fabricating Combat Scenes to Secure Financial Aid from the US

Fact Check en Featured Misleading-en

Truth has been unearthed, here.

Claim

Viral clips suggest that Ukraine soldiers are staging fake combat scenes to create an appearance of being in a war situation to extract financial aid from the United States.

Three Twitter posts by 'Liberal Tear Creator™' claiming that Ukrainian soldiers are faking combat scenes to secure U.S. financial aid. The posts contain embedded TikTok videos with watermarks from user '@vitsikkk2'. The first post shows a soldier with makeup being applied, the second highlights a helmet with fake blood, and the third depicts a soldier lying on the ground with smoke in the background. The tweets allege staged war footage, sparking online debate. Image date: March 2, 2025."

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Fact Check

To authenticate the clip, DFRAC conducted a reverse image search using keyframes from the third video clip in the post. This search led us to a TikTok video posted by the user vitsikkkk2, who operates under the profile name Віцик – борець за життя 2 🇺🇦, based in Ukraine.

A Twitter post by 'Liberal Tear Creator™' (@LibTearCreator1) dated March 2, featuring a TikTok video from user '@vitsikkk2'. The tweet reads, 'Third and most disturbing video.' The video thumbnail shows a soldier in a Ukraine military uniform lying on the ground with another soldier kneeling beside him while smoke rises in the background.

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Additionally, we performed a keyword search for “vitsikkkk2 youtube,” which directed us to a YouTube channel named Віцик – борець за життя. This channel features a total of 65 videos and over 14,400 subscribers.

A TikTok video by user 'vitsikkk2' featuring a staged combat scene. The video shows a soldier in a Ukrainian military uniform lying on the ground while another soldier kneels beside him, appearing to check on him. Smoke is rising in the background. The TikTok caption in Ukrainian references 'Віщик - борець за життя' (Vishchik - fighter for life) and includes hashtags such as #брати (brothers), #війна (war), #зйомки (filming), and #кліп (clip), suggesting it is part of a film or music video project.

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We then viewed a recently uploaded video titled The Brothers (Mysha Scorpion & Vycik) | Official Clip, translated from Ukrainian.

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This video is an official music video by Віцик – борець за життя, linked to the aforementioned YouTube handle @vitsikkkk.

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To further substantiate this, we examined the video’s description on YouTube, where we found links to streaming platforms such as Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify.


These findings confirm that the clip was produced by a Ukraine-based creator and is part of an official music video.

Conclusion

The fact check by DFRAC indicates that the viral clips are misleadingly shared. The video cited by users making false allegations originates from the creator of the official music video. It has been misrepresented to suggest that Ukrainians are fabricating scenarios to obtain monetary assistance from the U.S.

Analysis: Misleading