Photographs shared online were edited.
Anthony Blinken visited the Veterano Pizza pizzeria in Kyiv on May 14, founded by an ATO veteran. Subsequently, information began to spread online that right before the Secretary of State visited them, the establishment allegedly removed from the wall a photo of the burning Trade Unions House in Odesa, which was set on fire on May 2, 2014 and caused mass casualties. They allegedly replaced the photo with a trident. Moreover, the chevron of the SS division allegedly disappeared from the wall. This is allegedly evidenced by old photos from the institution, where a photo of the burning Trade Unions House and Nazi symbols are seen.
Yet this news is not true. Images that propagandists spread online as proof of Nazi symbols in the veteran’s pizzeria have been edited.
After going through the photos marked with the location and restaurant @veterano.pizza on Instagram, StopFake journalists came to the conclusion that this pizzeria never had a photo of the burning Trade Unions House in Odesa.
A photo of two men posing in a pizzeria in front of a burning Trade Unions House in Odesa photo, was edited. StopFake managed to find the original picture — it was published on Instagram back in December 2021. The image of a trident on a black and red background is clearly visible on the wall behind the visitors.
The photo of the wall of the establishment, where one can see the chevron of the 5th Panzer Division SS Viking, was also edited. The original picture was published on Instagram in February 2018. There is no SS division chevron on it — it was added to the photo later with the help of a photo editor.
Earlier, StopFake journalists refuted the disinformation that the Ukrainian Armed Forces allegedly borrowed their uniforms from the Wehrmacht.
