Disinfo watchdog debunks Russian POW torture fake photo

The photo claimed to be the one of Russian soldier Aleksei Motuz, whose fingers were allegedly cut off in Ukrainian captivity, was actually taken by Ukrainian doctors before they stitched the fingers back to a civilian teen’s arm following an circular saw accident.

This was reported by the Russian opposition publication ASTRA, Ukrinform saw.

"The photo of the hand with severed fingers allegedly belonging to Russian soldier Aleksei Motuz held in Ukrainian captivity was in fact published in January 2022 by the Zakarpattia Regional Hospital. This is the hand of a 16-year-old Ukrainian teen who had an accident, cutting off five of his fingers while operating a circular saw," the report reads.

Earlier, the mother of a Russian volunteer soldier Aleksei Motuz, Tatiana Motuz, told ASTRA her son's partner received a message from a Ukrainian number on the night of January 9, with people telling her they would send her pictures. Motuz’s relatives eventually received photos of Motuz's fingerless hands, a leg with a firearm wound, and his body after the man was allegedly executed. Russian media have widely covered the case, while none of them even spoke to Motuz's family.

Journalists claim that at least one photo in question is definitely false as it was made back in January 2022 and published by Ukraine’s media outlet Depo.ua with the headline "Zakarpattia doctors stitch back the young man’s severed fingers."

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the National Police say the video circulating in Russian media purportedly showing the killing of a military draft office staffer as he was issuing a draft notice is also a hoax.