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RIA Novosti calls Bucha "a falsification to Britain's order"; TASS says only that a list of names was never published

Russia's foreign ministry says Sergei Lavrov's delegation will hand out a report on Bucha at the UN General Assembly. Eight reports cover it. All eight are Russian, and all eight quote the same spokeswoman at the same press conference.

Делегация РФ представит доклад о событиях в Буче на Генассамблее ООН
Делегация РФ представит доклад о событиях в Буче на Генассамблее ООН as published by Interfax · seen at Interfax
Russia & Eurasia Russia Ukraine

The announcement. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, told a Moscow press conference on 17 September that a delegation led by foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will circulate a report on Bucha at the UN General Assembly. Interfax quotes her saying the assembly is where the report "will be distributed most actively".

One briefing, four different allegations.

Outlet What it carried Whose word
Interfax the delegation will hand the report out at the assembly writes "provocation" in its own voice, then quotes her
TASS the victims' list was "never provided to anyone or published anywhere" attributed to her; headlined as "oddities"
RIA Novosti "a falsification to Britain's order"; Western leaders' visits "a political machination" attributed by verb in one headline, written flat in another
Life.ru the UN Secretariat faces a "shameful stain"; unnamed "new data" attributed to her
Vedomosti the UN secretary-general accused of an anti-Russian campaign attributed to her

What is not settled. Every report we hold traces to that one briefing, so eight reports are one account. None carries a reply from Kyiv, from the UN or from Britain. None names anyone killed at Bucha, and none gives a toll. The "new data" is never described, and the report itself is never quoted or shown. We hold no Ukrainian, UN or independent report on the claim — an absence in what we hold, not silence from them.

What this is about. Russia's foreign ministry says it will hand out, at the UN's annual leaders' week in New York, a document arguing that the killings at Bucha were staged.

How it got here. Russia and Ukraine have been at war since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and fighting began in the Donbas. Russia invaded on a full scale on 24 February 2022. Russian troops took Bucha, a commuter town north-west of Kyiv, in the first days of that invasion, and withdrew from the Kyiv region at the end of March 2022. When Ukrainian forces re-entered, bodies of civilians were found in the streets and in graves. Ukraine and Western governments called it a massacre by Russian troops; Russia said then, and says now, that it was staged. Bucha became the most-cited episode in the war-crimes case against Russia, and the argument over it has never been settled between the two governments.

Who is involved. Zakharova is the foreign ministry's spokeswoman and its public voice; she is the only person quoted in anything we hold. Lavrov, foreign minister since 2004, is named as leading the delegation but is nowhere quoted. The General Assembly's high-level week is when heads of state and foreign ministers gather in New York, and any member state can circulate papers on its margins. The Secretariat is the UN's civil service, headed by the secretary-general. Russia holds a permanent seat, and a veto, on the Security Council.

What is at stake. If the evidence from Bucha can be made to look contested, a foundation of the sanctions and prosecutions built since 2022 is reopened. If it cannot, this is a long-standing denial restated at a larger venue.

Where it stands. As of 17 September the report had been announced, not circulated. Nothing we hold shows the document, or any answer to it.

What is being argued about

  • Whether the killings at Bucha were staged, and who is saying so
  • A report announced for the UN General Assembly but never shown
  • Eight reports, one speaker, no reply from anyone accused
  • What we do not hold on the claim
One press conference, five outletsSide by side
OutletWhat it carriedAttributed, or in the outlet's own voice
InterfaxLavrov's delegation will hand the report out at the UN General AssemblyOwn voice: "a report on the provocation in Bucha", then her quote
TASSThe victims' list was "never provided to anyone or published anywhere"Attributed; the headline softens it to "oddities"
RIA Novosti"A falsification to Britain's order"; Western leaders' visits "a political machination"Attributed by verb in one headline; "falsification" written flat in another
Life.ruThe UN Secretariat faces a "shameful stain"; unnamed "new data"Attributed to her
VedomostiThe UN secretary-general accused of an anti-Russian campaignAttributed to her
What each report carried from the same Moscow briefing, and whether the disputed word is attributed to the spokeswoman or written in the outlet's own voice.
Sources I Interfax
Centre estimate · not a score
Interfax 🇷🇺RU · digital · Делегация РФ представит доклад о событиях в Буче на Генассамблее ООН Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Interfax → What we have measured A checkable claim passed on unchecked relays the president's statistic about world cities in quotation marks with no check and no counter-voice ×1A denial carried as characterisation press reports are labelled planted, and the label is passed on in the report's own voice ×1Anonymous source The meetings are sourced to unnamed people familiar with the situation. ×1Anyone hurt named or counted injuries described in clinical detail; the man is never named ×1 from 7627 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → T TASS
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
TASS 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Russian diplomat points to oddities over names on Bucha memorial Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at TASS → What we have measured Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1 from 6410 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова уверена, что по фальсификации в Буче в будущем напишут мемуары Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала поездки западных лидеров в Бучу политической махинацией Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала историю с Бучей фальсификацией по заказу Британии Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled МИД: верить, что Совбез ООН расследует провокацию в Буче, не приходится Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → L Life.ru
Right estimate · not a score
Life.ru 🇷🇺RU · digital · «Позорное пятно придётся смывать долго»: Захарова высказалась о роли ООН в событиях в Буче Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Life.ru → What we have measured Absence of notice framed as a finding a booking agent not having heard is put in the headline as the news ×1Absence used as rebuttal a booking service's lack of notice is run as a counter-report, sourced anonymously ×1Actor framing The company is the only actor named. The regulator appears only as a law it obeys. ×1Actor label Calls the Ukrainian president the head of a 'regime' ×1 from 24961 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → V Vedomosti
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Vedomosti 🇷🇺RU · digital · Захарова обвинила генсека ООН в антироссийской кампании Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Vedomosti → What we have measured Actor named names Russia as the state actor, not the company, and frames it neutrally ×1Asserted vs attributed the headline attributes the attacks to Novak ×1Asserted vs attributed Attributes the attack count to Novak in the headline. ×1Attribution figure stated flat with no source named, and tied to 2027 ×1 from 6447 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Eight reports in 72 minutesTimeline
  1. Thu 17 Sep12:19 printed on the page Vedomosti has her accusing the UN secretary-general of an anti-Russian campaign
  2. Thu 17 Sep12:42 printed on the page Life.ru carries the "shameful stain" on the UN Secretariat, and unnamed "new data"
  3. Thu 17 Sep13:08 printed on the page RIA Novosti says the ministry does not expect the Security Council to investigate
  4. Thu 17 Sep13:10 printed on the page RIA Novosti reports her calling Bucha a falsification to Britain's order
  5. Thu 17 Sep13:22 printed on the page TASS reports that the list of victims' names was never published anywhere
  6. Thu 17 Sep13:27 printed on the page Interfax reports that Lavrov's delegation will distribute the report at the assembly
  7. Thu 17 Sep13:30 printed on the page RIA Novosti reports her calling Western leaders' visits to Bucha a political machination
  8. Thu 17 Sep13:31 printed on the page RIA Novosti reports her saying memoirs will be written about the falsification
Publication times as printed by each outlet. Every one follows the same Moscow press conference.
Sources I Interfax
Centre estimate · not a score
Interfax 🇷🇺RU · digital · Делегация РФ представит доклад о событиях в Буче на Генассамблее ООН Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Interfax → What we have measured A checkable claim passed on unchecked relays the president's statistic about world cities in quotation marks with no check and no counter-voice ×1A denial carried as characterisation press reports are labelled planted, and the label is passed on in the report's own voice ×1Anonymous source The meetings are sourced to unnamed people familiar with the situation. ×1Anyone hurt named or counted injuries described in clinical detail; the man is never named ×1 from 7627 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → T TASS
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
TASS 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Russian diplomat points to oddities over names on Bucha memorial Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at TASS → What we have measured Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1 from 6410 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова уверена, что по фальсификации в Буче в будущем напишут мемуары Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала поездки западных лидеров в Бучу политической махинацией Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала историю с Бучей фальсификацией по заказу Британии Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled МИД: верить, что Совбез ООН расследует провокацию в Буче, не приходится Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → L Life.ru
Right estimate · not a score
Life.ru 🇷🇺RU · digital · «Позорное пятно придётся смывать долго»: Захарова высказалась о роли ООН в событиях в Буче Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Life.ru → What we have measured Absence of notice framed as a finding a booking agent not having heard is put in the headline as the news ×1Absence used as rebuttal a booking service's lack of notice is run as a counter-report, sourced anonymously ×1Actor framing The company is the only actor named. The regulator appears only as a law it obeys. ×1Actor label Calls the Ukrainian president the head of a 'regime' ×1 from 24961 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → V Vedomosti
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Vedomosti 🇷🇺RU · digital · Захарова обвинила генсека ООН в антироссийской кампании Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Vedomosti → What we have measured Actor named names Russia as the state actor, not the company, and frames it neutrally ×1Asserted vs attributed the headline attributes the attacks to Novak ×1Asserted vs attributed Attributes the attack count to Novak in the headline. ×1Attribution figure stated flat with no source named, and tied to 2027 ×1 from 6447 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
What the eight reports containChart
Counted across every report we hold on the claim. A count of what is in the text, not a judgement of any outlet.
Sources I Interfax
Centre estimate · not a score
Interfax 🇷🇺RU · digital · Делегация РФ представит доклад о событиях в Буче на Генассамблее ООН Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Interfax → What we have measured A checkable claim passed on unchecked relays the president's statistic about world cities in quotation marks with no check and no counter-voice ×1A denial carried as characterisation press reports are labelled planted, and the label is passed on in the report's own voice ×1Anonymous source The meetings are sourced to unnamed people familiar with the situation. ×1Anyone hurt named or counted injuries described in clinical detail; the man is never named ×1 from 7627 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → T TASS
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
TASS 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Russian diplomat points to oddities over names on Bucha memorial Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at TASS → What we have measured Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1 from 6410 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова уверена, что по фальсификации в Буче в будущем напишут мемуары Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала поездки западных лидеров в Бучу политической махинацией Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала историю с Бучей фальсификацией по заказу Британии Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled МИД: верить, что Совбез ООН расследует провокацию в Буче, не приходится Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → L Life.ru
Right estimate · not a score
Life.ru 🇷🇺RU · digital · «Позорное пятно придётся смывать долго»: Захарова высказалась о роли ООН в событиях в Буче Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Life.ru → What we have measured Absence of notice framed as a finding a booking agent not having heard is put in the headline as the news ×1Absence used as rebuttal a booking service's lack of notice is run as a counter-report, sourced anonymously ×1Actor framing The company is the only actor named. The regulator appears only as a law it obeys. ×1Actor label Calls the Ukrainian president the head of a 'regime' ×1 from 24961 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → V Vedomosti
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Vedomosti 🇷🇺RU · digital · Захарова обвинила генсека ООН в антироссийской кампании Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Vedomosti → What we have measured Actor named names Russia as the state actor, not the company, and frames it neutrally ×1Asserted vs attributed the headline attributes the attacks to Novak ×1Asserted vs attributed Attributes the attack count to Novak in the headline. ×1Attribution figure stated flat with no source named, and tied to 2027 ×1 from 6447 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
The bias in this coverageBias

One voice, eight reports

Every report we hold on this traces to the same foreign ministry spokeswoman; the foreign minister is named as leading the delegation but is nowhere quoted. Four put the words falsification and provocation in her mouth with a verb, three write them in their own voice, and one inserts "on the falsification of events in Bucha" into a direct quotation in brackets. Nothing we hold carries a reply from Kyiv, from the UN, or from anyone else named in the dispute.

8 reports we hold on this 1 people quoted across all of them 4 reports attributing the word to her with a verb 0 reports carrying a reply

An argument about names, with no names

The dispute is over a list of the dead at Bucha, and one report carries the claim that the names were never published anywhere. No report we hold names a single person killed there, and none gives a toll. The English-language one frames the claim as a diplomat pointing to oddities.

0 reports naming anyone killed at Bucha 0 reports giving a death toll
Scored without the mastheads. Where the two passes differ, both are kept.
Sources I Interfax
Centre estimate · not a score
Interfax 🇷🇺RU · digital · Делегация РФ представит доклад о событиях в Буче на Генассамблее ООН Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Interfax → What we have measured A checkable claim passed on unchecked relays the president's statistic about world cities in quotation marks with no check and no counter-voice ×1A denial carried as characterisation press reports are labelled planted, and the label is passed on in the report's own voice ×1Anonymous source The meetings are sourced to unnamed people familiar with the situation. ×1Anyone hurt named or counted injuries described in clinical detail; the man is never named ×1 from 7627 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → T TASS
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
TASS 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Russian diplomat points to oddities over names on Bucha memorial Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at TASS → What we have measured Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1 from 6410 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова уверена, что по фальсификации в Буче в будущем напишут мемуары Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала поездки западных лидеров в Бучу политической махинацией Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала историю с Бучей фальсификацией по заказу Британии Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled МИД: верить, что Совбез ООН расследует провокацию в Буче, не приходится Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → L Life.ru
Right estimate · not a score
Life.ru 🇷🇺RU · digital · «Позорное пятно придётся смывать долго»: Захарова высказалась о роли ООН в событиях в Буче Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Life.ru → What we have measured Absence of notice framed as a finding a booking agent not having heard is put in the headline as the news ×1Absence used as rebuttal a booking service's lack of notice is run as a counter-report, sourced anonymously ×1Actor framing The company is the only actor named. The regulator appears only as a law it obeys. ×1Actor label Calls the Ukrainian president the head of a 'regime' ×1 from 24961 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → V Vedomosti
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Vedomosti 🇷🇺RU · digital · Захарова обвинила генсека ООН в антироссийской кампании Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Vedomosti → What we have measured Actor named names Russia as the state actor, not the company, and frames it neutrally ×1Asserted vs attributed the headline attributes the attacks to Novak ×1Asserted vs attributed Attributes the attack count to Novak in the headline. ×1Attribution figure stated flat with no source named, and tied to 2027 ×1 from 6447 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →

Claims and verdicts

unverified A Russian delegation led by Sergei Lavrov will distribute a report on Bucha at the UN General Assembly.
Interfax quotes Maria Zakharova saying so at a Moscow press conference, and every other report we hold on this event — TASS, RIA Novosti, Life.ru, Vedomosti — comes from the same briefing, which makes them one account. It is a stated intention, and we hold nothing from the UN or any other delegation on it.
Checked against 3 sources:
I Interfax
Centre estimate · not a score
Interfax 🇷🇺RU · digital · Делегация РФ представит доклад о событиях в Буче на Генассамблее ООН Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Interfax → What we have measured A checkable claim passed on unchecked relays the president's statistic about world cities in quotation marks with no check and no counter-voice ×1A denial carried as characterisation press reports are labelled planted, and the label is passed on in the report's own voice ×1Anonymous source The meetings are sourced to unnamed people familiar with the situation. ×1Anyone hurt named or counted injuries described in clinical detail; the man is never named ×1 from 7627 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → T TASS
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
TASS 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Russian diplomat points to oddities over names on Bucha memorial Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at TASS → What we have measured Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1 from 6410 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова уверена, что по фальсификации в Буче в будущем напишут мемуары Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
unverified The killings in Bucha were a falsification carried out to a British commission.
This is Zakharova's assertion, carried by RIA Novosti and echoed across the same briefing by Life.ru and Vedomosti; no report we hold sets out the evidence for it or carries a Ukrainian, British or UN reply. One account, and it is a claim by a party to the war.
Checked against 3 sources:
R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала историю с Бучей фальсификацией по заказу Британии Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → L Life.ru
Right estimate · not a score
Life.ru 🇷🇺RU · digital · «Позорное пятно придётся смывать долго»: Захарова высказалась о роли ООН в событиях в Буче Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Life.ru → What we have measured Absence of notice framed as a finding a booking agent not having heard is put in the headline as the news ×1Absence used as rebuttal a booking service's lack of notice is run as a counter-report, sourced anonymously ×1Actor framing The company is the only actor named. The regulator appears only as a law it obeys. ×1Actor label Calls the Ukrainian president the head of a 'regime' ×1 from 24961 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → V Vedomosti
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Vedomosti 🇷🇺RU · digital · Захарова обвинила генсека ООН в антироссийской кампании Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Vedomosti → What we have measured Actor named names Russia as the state actor, not the company, and frames it neutrally ×1Asserted vs attributed the headline attributes the attacks to Novak ×1Asserted vs attributed Attributes the attack count to Novak in the headline. ×1Attribution figure stated flat with no source named, and tied to 2027 ×1 from 6447 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
unverified The list of the names of the Bucha victims was never given to anyone and never published anywhere.
Only TASS carries this, and it is Zakharova speaking at the same press conference rather than a check of the record. No other report we hold on this event addresses whether such a list exists.
Checked against 1 source:
T TASS
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
TASS 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Russian diplomat points to oddities over names on Bucha memorial Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at TASS → What we have measured Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1 from 6410 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →

Who wrote it

Р РИА Новости RIA Novosti · 4 reports on this story
What the bias passes found in their reporting
Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures×1
Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named×1
Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman×1
Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker×1
Claims we checked that rest on their reporting
2 false2 misleading5 disputed38 unverified12 true
From 26630 reports we hold under this byline, at RIA Novosti, Regnum. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →
Н Никита Никонов Life.ru
What the bias passes found in their reporting
Actor unnamed Says the deficit 'will be closed' without saying by whom×1
Assertion vs attribution The same motive is attributed to a named official and marked as her opinion×1
Attacker named flat, no attribution the drones are stated to be Ukraine's without a source for that×1
Damage without a cause the plants are damaged in the passive and there is no attack and no attacker in the sentence×1
Claims we checked that rest on their reporting
9 unverified3 true
From 1158 reports we hold under this byline, at Life.ru. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →
К Ксения Наумчик Vedomosti
What the bias passes found in their reporting
Attribution figure stated flat with no source named, and tied to 2027×1
Headline only This report holds a headline with no body, so all it tells a reader is the central bank's announcement.×1
Measure chosen turnout given as a share, before the vote has opened, with no counter named×1
No actor named passive voice, no seizing body named×1
Claims we checked that rest on their reporting
7 unverified
From 986 reports we hold under this byline, at Vedomosti. Two independent readings, each made without the masthead, a quote attached to every tag. A record, never a rating. Their full record →
The bylines on the reports this story is built from. Hover one for what our passes have measured on their reporting. · 2 reports we hold carry no byline — we do not invent one.

Coverage, outlet by outlet

R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова уверена, что по фальсификации в Буче в будущем напишут мемуары Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — state-controlled
Adds her prediction that memoirs will one day be written about it, and puts "falsification" in the headline as the event's name.
Hedged or stated: falsification written unmarked in the outlet's own words; only her conviction is attributed — “Захарова уверена, что по фальсификации в Буче в будущем напишут мемуары”
Asserted versus attributed: "falsification" treated as the settled name of the event in the headline — “Захарова уверена, что по фальсификации в Буче в будущем напишут мемуары”
Read it at RIA Novosti → https://ria.ru/20260917/zaharova-2118290093.html
R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала поездки западных лидеров в Бучу политической махинацией Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — state-controlled
The only report that has her calling Western leaders' visits to Bucha "a political machination".
Read it at RIA Novosti → https://ria.ru/20260917/zakharova-2118289903.html
I Interfax
Centre estimate · not a score
Interfax 🇷🇺RU · digital · Делегация РФ представит доклад о событиях в Буче на Генассамблее ООН Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Interfax → What we have measured A checkable claim passed on unchecked relays the president's statistic about world cities in quotation marks with no check and no counter-voice ×1A denial carried as characterisation press reports are labelled planted, and the label is passed on in the report's own voice ×1Anonymous source The meetings are sourced to unnamed people familiar with the situation. ×1Anyone hurt named or counted injuries described in clinical detail; the man is never named ×1 from 7627 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → —
The only report that gives the venue and quotes her sentence about the report being distributed at the assembly.
Делегация РФ представит доклад о событиях в Буче на Генассамблее ООН Москва. 17 сентября. INTERFAX.RU -Российская делегация во главе с министром иностранных дел Сергеем Лавровым представит доклад о провокации в Буче "на полях" Генеральной Ассамблеи ООН, сообщила в четверг официальный представитель МИД РФ Мария Захарова. "Я могу сказать, что Генеральная Ассамблея ООН, политическая неделя которой сейчас как раз начинается, куда отправляется российская делегация во главе Сергеем Лавровым, станет той площадкой, где этот доклад (о фальсификации событий в Буче) будет активнейшим образом распространя
Whose voice: the report inserts its own characterisation inside her direct quotation, in brackets — “этот доклад (о фальсификации событий в Буче) будет активнейшим образом распространяться”
Hedged or stated: the lede calls Bucha a provocation before reaching the attribution at the end of the sentence — “Российская делегация во главе с министром иностранных дел Сергеем Лавровым представит доклад о провокации в Буче”
Asserted versus attributed: "provocation" used in the report's own voice, outside the quotation — “представит доклад о провокации в Буче”
Read it at Interfax → https://www.interfax.ru/russia/1116700
T TASS
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
TASS 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Russian diplomat points to oddities over names on Bucha memorial Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at TASS → What we have measured Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1 from 6410 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — state-controlled
The only report carrying the claim that the list of victims' names was never given to anyone or published anywhere.
MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed to oddities and contradictions surrounding the appearance of names of victims of the Bucha events on a city memorial, while the Kiev regime has still not provided a list of the dead. Zakharova took part in a TASS press conference presenting a report by the International Public Tribunal on the Crimes of Ukrainian Neo-Nazis that exposes the falsification of events in Bucha. "On the one hand, the names of these victims apparently do exist because somehow they have been engraved on this memorial," the Russia
Whose voice: the claim about the victims' names is carried as an emphasis, with no reply from anyone — “Maria Zakharova stressed that no one had ever provided this list of the victims' names to anyone or published it anywhere”
Headline against body: headline hedges to "oddities"; the body states the absence of the list flat — “Maria Zakharova stressed that no one had ever provided this list of the victims' names to anyone or published it anywhere”
Read it at TASS → https://tass.com/politics/2189079
R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled Захарова назвала историю с Бучей фальсификацией по заказу Британии Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — state-controlled
The only report naming Britain as having ordered the alleged falsification.
Hedged or stated: the same word placed in her mouth by the verb rather than stated by the report — “Захарова назвала историю с Бучей фальсификацией по заказу Британии”
Attribution: a third state named as commissioning the event, attributed to the spokesperson — “Захарова назвала историю с Бучей фальсификацией по заказу Британии”
Read it at RIA Novosti → https://ria.ru/20260917/bucha-2118281283.html
R RIA Novosti
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
RIA Novosti 🇷🇺RU · state agency · state-controlled МИД: верить, что Совбез ООН расследует провокацию в Буче, не приходится Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at RIA Novosti → What we have measured Actor named no attacker named; the channels only 'said' there were failures ×1Actor named the outage is reported with no actor named ×1Actor named 'the West' is named as acting, attributed to the foreign ministry spokeswoman ×1Actor named headline names Ukraine's armed forces as the attacker ×1 from 31373 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → — state-controlled
The only report saying the ministry does not expect the UN Security Council to investigate.
Hedged or stated: headline states provocation as the thing to be investigated, unmarked as anyone's claim — “МИД: верить, что Совбез ООН расследует провокацию в Буче, не приходится”
Read it at RIA Novosti → https://ria.ru/20260917/sb-2118280878.html
L Life.ru
Right estimate · not a score
Life.ru 🇷🇺RU · digital · «Позорное пятно придётся смывать долго»: Захарова высказалась о роли ООН в событиях в Буче Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Life.ru → What we have measured Absence of notice framed as a finding a booking agent not having heard is put in the headline as the news ×1Absence used as rebuttal a booking service's lack of notice is run as a counter-report, sourced anonymously ×1Actor framing The company is the only actor named. The regulator appears only as a law it obeys. ×1Actor label Calls the Ukrainian president the head of a 'regime' ×1 from 24961 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → —
The only report on the UN Secretariat's "shameful stain", and on "new data" that it never describes.
«Я считаю, что Секретариату Организации Объединённых Наций уже не отвертеться. Признание придётся сделать. Особенно в свете новых фактов, о которых сегодня пойдёт речь. Это позорное пятно на авторитете ООН придётся смывать долго», — сказала Захарова на пресс-конференции, посвящённой презентации доклада Международного общественного трибунала по преступлениям украинских неонацистов. Она напомнила, что Москва с самого начала называла произошедшее в Буче провокацией и дезинформацией. По её словам, после появления сообщений о гибели мирных жителей российская сторона обращалась в международные орган
What is left vague: "new data" carries the claim but is never described — “По её словам, появившиеся новые данные не позволят организации избежать признания своей роли в произошедшем.”
Read it at Life.ru → https://life.ru/p/pozornoe-pyatno-pridetsya-smyvat-dolgo-zaharova-vyska…
V Vedomosti
Centre-right estimate · not a score
Vedomosti 🇷🇺RU · digital · Захарова обвинила генсека ООН в антироссийской кампании Open this report in The AI Times → Read it at Vedomosti → What we have measured Actor named names Russia as the state actor, not the company, and frames it neutrally ×1Asserted vs attributed the headline attributes the attacks to Novak ×1Asserted vs attributed Attributes the attack count to Novak in the headline. ×1Attribution figure stated flat with no source named, and tied to 2027 ×1 from 6447 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → —
The only report that names the UN secretary-general as the target of the accusation.
Генеральный секретарь ООН Антониу Гутерриш сознательно поддержал антироссийскую кампанию, связанную с событиями в Буче. Об этом заявила официальный представитель МИД РФ Мария Захарова на пресс-конференции. По ее словам, действия генсека ООН противоречили принципу нейтральности, который должен соблюдать руководитель организации. Захарова также отметила, что Гутерриш «полностью стал частью этой провокации». Дипломат подчеркнула, что за пять лет генсек ООН не предоставил список погибших в Буче, несмотря на многочисленные запросы со стороны России. В сентябре 2025 г. Москва требовала от управления
Whose voice is quoted: the UN secretary-general is accused and given no reply in the report — “Захарова обвинила генсека ООН в антироссийской кампании”
Read it at Vedomosti → https://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/news/2026/09/17/1229645-zaharova-obvi…
Checked, didn’t cover
M Meduza
Centre estimate · not a score
Meduza 🇱🇻LV · digital · exile No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Agenda given without a verdict the only report that lists what was discussed and stops there ×1Asserted versus attributed figure attributed to the leaders' own declaration ×1Attribution the release is sourced to the leaders' joint declaration ×1Attribution inside the sentence the whole account marked as one leader's telling ×1 from 1071 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → T The Moscow Times
Centre estimate · not a score
The Moscow Times 🇳🇱NL · newspaper · exile No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Asserted vs attributed Repeats a two-sided deal on one side's word; the second party's silence is not mentioned. ×1Asserted vs attributed headline states the nuclear warning flat, with no source ×1Attributed justification Russia's justification is carried in quotation marks and attributed. No Ukrainian response is given. ×1Attribution Attributes the threat to Moscow and repeats the ministry's list of targets unchallenged. ×1 from 429 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → S Suspilne
Centre estimate · not a score
Suspilne 🇺🇦UA · public broadcaster · public-service No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor label Names the attacker as 'the Russian army' and gives the date ×1Actor label The Russian side is called 'occupiers' in the headline. ×1Actor named The sentence is given by 'occupiers', so the actor is named and labelled. ×1Actor named hurt aged On the other side of the Dnipro, the Russian drone is named as the actor and the wounded man is given an age, not a name. The vote is called 'pseudo-elections' in the report's own voice. ×1 from 20607 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → U Ukrainska Pravda
Centre estimate · not a score
Ukrainska Pravda 🇺🇦UA · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor named shortages are described with no one named as causing them ×1Actor named The cancellation is pinned on a named Hungarian official's refusal. ×1Actor named The town is called 'occupied', but the lede does not name who occupies it or who blocks aid. ×1Actor named Names the EU and partners as the ones paying ×1 from 7025 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → M Mediazona
Centre estimate · not a score
Mediazona 🇷🇺RU · digital · independent No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor named the Russian army is named as the actor, in active voice ×1A running total, and a collective actor 'two more' implies earlier removals, and the courts act as a plural with no case or plaintiff named ×1Harm counted The only report that counts people hurt, with a floor rather than a figure ×1Harm counted the only report that counts people hurt ×1 from 803 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times → N Novaya Gazeta Europe
Centre estimate · not a score
Novaya Gazeta Europe 🇱🇻LV · newspaper · exile No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor named Names Russia as the actor in the headline and in the first line. ×1Anonymous source asserts The report's strongest claim, that results were falsified across most regions, comes from a source it does not name ×1Anonymous sourcing Everything rests on a foreign newspaper citing two unnamed diplomats. ×1A party's label carried inside a quote, unmarked the Kremlin spokesman's phrase for the Ukrainian government is reproduced without a note ×1 from 1055 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
Silence is recorded, not inferred — each of these was read when we built this story and carried nothing on this event.
We could not read these
U Ukrinform
State / loyalist estimate · not a score
Ukrinform 🇺🇦UA · digital · state-controlled No report held from this outlet on this story. What we have measured Actor named names the occupying force ×1Actor named Names the occupying force but not what residents are fleeing from ×1Actor named No actor is named. The drone is not attributed to anyone. ×1Actor named Names the attacker and what was damaged, and states the halt flat without naming a source. ×1 from 2995 articles we hold · quote attached Outlet profile in The AI Times →
These are must-cite outlets for this desk that we did not manage to read when we built this story. That is a gap in our reach, not a silence on their part, and it is not evidence of anything about this story.

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