The photo on the billboard is fake. Moreover, the picture used captures a traffic stop in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen, and not in France. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at the Crimea platform on August 23, once again emphasized that France does not recognize Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories.
Social media users are sharing a photo of a billboard, which allegedly illustrates how European countries congratulate Ukraine on Independence Day. On it, Crimea is missing from the map, and the colors of the state flag have been swapped. This, according to propaganda, allegedly reveals the true Europeans attitude towards Ukraine and its territorial borders.
In reality, this is another Russian propaganda’s fake. France did not congratulate Ukrainians on Independence Day in such a way. StopFake noted that the image was distributed only by propaganda resources and Russian Telegram channels. By using image search tools, we also found that the photo used for the fake was taken in Copenhagen, Denmark. It has nothing to do with France. Ukrinform journalists also noted that the original photo was taken from the brand book of the Danish company AFA JCDecaux, which specializes in outdoor advertising.
There is also no mention of such an information campaign dedicated to Ukraine in the French media. Besides, French President Emmanuel Macron in his speech at the Crimea platform on August 23, said that “France does not recognize either Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories, or the results of the fake elections that were organized”. He expressed support for the Ukrainian people, who continue their struggle to protect their territory and sovereignty.
Earlier, StopFake refuted the fake that France allegedly handed broken Caesar self-propelled guns over to Ukraine.
