No, Russia’s Army wasn’t ‘destroyed’

A recent description of a Facebook video might cheer supporters of Ukraine, but it doesn’t reflect reality. 

"Revolt in Russia! Treasure bankruptcy, mass protests, Army destroyed!" the caption on the Dec. 18 post says. 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook.)

The post’s nearly 12-minute video discusses Russia’s economy, but neither "mass protests" nor claims that Russia’s army was destroyed. It’s akin to a recent post we checked that wrongly alleged that the war in Ukraine is "all over;" we rated that False. 

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stated on February 24, 2022 in a Facebook post

Video shows footage from Russia invading Ukraine.

The Guardian reported Dec. 18 that "fragile morale almost certainly continues to be a significant vulnerability across much of the Russian force," according to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence. But Russian forces haven’t been outright "destroyed," as the post claims, and the war continues.  

Reuters reported Dec. 17 that Russian President Vladimir Putin has sought commanders’ proposals for how the country’s Ukraine invasion should proceed. Putin recently said that the Russian military is conducting military exercises in Belarus, and that Russia continues to attack Ukraine with drone strikes. 

We rate claims that Russia’s army was destroyed False.