Amidst the Ukraine-Russia war, Indian citizens were asked to reach the countries sharing borders with Ukraine with the tricolour flag in their hands. News reports were covered claiming that Pakistani and Turkish students are also using tricolour for safely crossing the various checkpoints in the war-torn country. In context of this, two images are going viral on social media with the claim that the viral images are of students of Turkey and Pakistan carrying the Indian national flag to escape from Ukraine. The caption of the image reads, "Pakistani Students Are Using Indian Flag To Escape Ukraine, Turkish students are also doing the same."
It is being widely shared on social media with similar claims
Claim:
Viral images show students of Turkey and Pakistan carrying the Indian national flag to escape from Ukraine.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the viral claim and found it to be fake. The viral images are of Indian students.
Image 1:
We did a google reverse image search and found this image in a video report of The Tribune dated 26 February 2022. The title of the report reads in English, "First batch of Indian students enter Hungary from Ukraine; embassy issues fresh advisory." In this video, students can be heard saying, "We are very thankful of Indian Embassy Budapest for evacuating us from such a critical zone." We found the same image in a report of The Tribune and India Today in which it is said that the students in the viral image are Indians.
We also found a tweet of Indian Embassy in Hungary in which the same students can be seen. The caption of the tweet reads, "More batches of Indian students enter Hungary from Ukrainian side at Zahony crossing, travelling onward to Budapest for return to India by AI flight today."
Image 2:
We did a google reverse image search and found this image in a report of The Wire, India Today and India.com. All these reports indicate that the image is of Indian students stuck in Ukraine. The title of the India.com report reads, "PHOTOS: First Batch Of Indian Students Leave Ukraine, To Be Evacuated Via Romania. See Here." According to the report, the first batch of Indian students departed from Chernivtsi on friday for the Ukraine-Romania border, from where they were flown to Delhi. The Ministry of External Affairs established camp offices in the western Ukrainian towns of Lviv and Chernivtsi to aid the transit of Indians to Hungary, Romania, and Poland.
We also found the same image in a video report of the Hindustan Times which indicates that the students in the viral image are Indians. The title of the video report reads, "India resumes Ukraine evacuation through land routes: MEA teams at Europe border points."
Conclusion:
Though it is true that many Pakistani and Turkish students used Indian tricolour to safely escape from Ukraine but the student in viral images holding tricolors are Indians. Indian Embassy in Hungary also shared these images mentioning them as Indian students. Hence, the viral claim is false.
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