Fact check: Ukrainian protesters were not dragged off a road in Italy

A misleading video has falsely claimed that Italian citizens are angrily assaulting Ukrainian protesters.

The footage shows several people in yellow vests sitting on a major road before being dragged away by irate motorists.

The caption of the post in Russian claims that Italian citizens are “tired” of “stupid protest actions by Ukrainians”. The video was shared by a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel and has been viewed thousands of times.

Euronews has fact-checked the claims.

Open-source investigation tools show that the footage actually shows an environmental protest which took place near Rome in June.

The same video was shared multiple times by local Italian media, reporting on a demonstration by Extinction Rebellion activists.

The environmental group had reportedly blocked the road to call on Italy’s government to end all fossil fuel extraction projects and instead finance more wind and solar energy.

Disinformation about Ukrainian refugees — mostly shared by pro-Kremlin voices — has followed them to Western Europe.

In one standout example, some users have falsely claimed that people fleeing the war had been invited to stay at a former Nazi concentration camp in Germany.