Images that predate the Russian-Ukraine war circulate ahead of Russian parade on May 9
Victory Day parade, held annually on May 9, commemorates the Soviet Union victory over Nazi Germany
(Reuters) - As Russia prepares for its traditional World War Two victory parade due on May 9, 2022, at least four images from previous years have inaccurately been shared as if recent online.
The Victory Day parade, held annually on May 9, commemorates the Soviet Union victory over Nazi Germany.
“Russian Army training ahead of their May 9th parade in Moscow. Looks familiar doesn’t it? Nice black outfits with armbands...” reads a tweet from April 30 that carries a miscaptioned picture and has garnered at least 1,200 retweets.
The image depicting a formation of at least 6 lines of women in black outfits with a red armband with a number in black traces back to at least 2019 and is viewable on Getty Images.
Another photograph showing women in navy outfits and a similar red arm band marching in front of the Alexander Column in Palace Squareis as old as from 2016. Reuters found higher resolution versions in blog entries from that year, which described them as a rehearsal for a parade. Reuters did not independently verify this.
A third photo, also showing women in navy outfits has been circulating since at least 2018.
A fourth photograph shared in 2022 depicting men in black uniform and the numbered red armband has actually been circulating online since at least May 3, 2018, when it was posted by Russian news agency Regnum. It also appears to show a rehearsal for the May 9 parade that year.
— Michael MacKay (@mhmck) April 30, 2022
VERDICT
Miscaptioned. These images were not captured in Russia ahead of the Victory Day parade on May 9, 2022. They appear to show rehearsals from previous years.
