The claim: Putin invaded Ukraine to take out the ‘main hub’ for bioweapons labs, child trafficking and money laundering

A July 17 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows an illustration of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a claim that he invaded Ukraine to take down crime.

“I don’t always invade Ukraine. But when I do, it’s to take out the NWO’s bio weapons labs, child trafficking & money laundering main hub” the text in the illustration reads. “And oh, liberate the Ukrainian people!”

The post was shared by Dr. Christiane Northrup, a retired celebrity physician who has regularly spread anti-vaccine misinformation. Northrup’s post gained more than 1,400 likes in two days.

Follow us on Facebook!Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks

Our rating: False

This post misstates the reasons Putin put forth as justification for the Ukraine invasion, though Putin's real reasons have also been based on false claims. Statistics also show that Ukraine is far from the world's capital of money laundering or child trafficking. And the claim about bioweapons labs has been disproven as a conspiracy theory.

Putin's real reasons for the invasion

On the morning of Feb. 24, 2022, Russia launched its invasion into Ukraine, with Putin dubbing it a “special military operation.”

Putin did not make any statement that Ukraine was the “main hub” for money laundering, child trafficking or bioweapons labs. But his stated reasons for invading were also false.

...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiggFodHRwczovL3d3dy51c2F0b2RheS5jb20v...