No, video doesn't show Putin sending his son off to fight in Ukraine

euronews (in English)

Numerous Chinese-language posts across social media platforms are spreading a narrative that the Russian president has allowed his son to fight in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Transcript

00:00No, Putin didn't send his son off to fight in Ukraine.

00:08A video is going around on social media which allegedly shows Russian President Vladimir Putin

00:14sending his son to the front line in Moscow's war against Ukraine.

00:18This Chinese-language post on X says that just like China's chairman Mao Zedong before him,

00:24Putin has sent his son off to war in an act which shows he's truly defending his country.

00:29The leaders of the supposed aggressor countries, meanwhile, just hide their children away, according to the post.

00:35The video attached shows Putin pinning a medal to the shirt of a young man in a military uniform before shaking his hand.

00:41There are lots of other posts across social media making similar claims about Putin's supposed son being sent to war,

00:48almost all of them in Chinese.

00:50They're completely misleading, however, as the video has been miscaptioned.

00:54A reverse image search of a frame from the video takes us to photos of Putin posing with the same man at the same event,

01:01revealing his true identity.

01:03This photo from the Russian outlet RIA Novosti Media Bank, for example, names the man as Senior Lieutenant Stepan Belov.

01:10The video and photo depict Putin awarding him the title of Hero of the Russian Federation

01:15at a ceremony in December 2022 dedicated to presenting awards to outstanding Russians in various fields.

01:22Various news reports and websites state that Belov was born in 1996 in Oktyabrsky in the Republic of Bashkortostan.

01:30EuroVerify has been unable to ascertain if he has any personal links to Putin, but there's no evidence out there that he's his son.

01:37Putin's family is largely shrouded in mystery, but he's previously confirmed that he has two daughters.

01:43There have long been media reports, though, that he has secret children from previous marriages and extramarital affairs,

01:50none of which have been confirmed.

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