RIA Novosti, in an article under the heading “Indestructibility point caught fire in Kiev, media reported,” writes :
“In the Pechersky district of Kyiv, a heating point is on fire, according to the Ukrainian edition Strana.ua in its Telegram channel.
"In Kyiv, in Pechersk, the 'point of invincibility' is on fire," the publication said.
The publication also publishes footage of the fire.”
The Politika Strana Telegram channel, created by the editors of the Ukrainian Russian-language edition Strana, which was blocked in Ukraine for pro-Russian propaganda a few days before the start of the war, published a message:
The next day, the National Police of Ukraine issued the following message:
"Attention! Russia continues the information war and spreads fake information about the fire of the Invincibility Point in Kyiv.
The Metropolitan Police report that there was no fire at the heating points for the population.
On the evening of December 12, while monitoring news on the Internet, law enforcement officers discovered a video of the fire, in which the author notes that “the point of invincibility is on fire”. Information quickly spread in the Ukrainian information field.
Employees of the duty unit and the department of criminal analysis of the Kyiv police carefully analyzed and verified this information.
As a result of the check, it was established that the video was filmed on the territory of the Russian Federation. Probably, the purpose of distributing such content is to whip up alarming moods among the population of Ukraine.
The Kyiv police claim that there was no fire in any point of heating the population. Trust only official sources of information!”
The addresses of all heating points in Kiev are on Google maps; there you can also see panoramic photos of the streets. There are 20 points in the Pechersky district; there are no buildings similar to those that fell into the frame in the “Country” video.
There is a sign on the pediment of one of the buildings, but due to the darkness and low resolution it is impossible to see it. But the ambulance is clearly visible, and this is the Russian GAZelle. On the website of the Melitopol plant of specialized vehicles "Citius C", which, before the Russian occupation, was also involved in the conversion of minivans for medical purposes, we read :
“For a long time ambulances based on the GAZelle were the most popular ambulances in Ukraine. The Citius plant produced a large number of linear vehicles on their basis – the same ambulances that bring medical teams to the call. These cars continue to perform their functions, but are gradually giving way to more modern cars of other brands. And there are a number of objective reasons for that.
The first reason is the price of a GAZelle in Ukraine. No one will argue that Renault or Volkswagen are more comfortable and reliable than Gazelle. Everything is clear here. But what about the price? After all, the cost has always been one of the decisive factors when choosing a car.
The main reason that Gazelles are gradually disappearing from the streets. – that's the price. To date, the new basic minibus Gazelle Next in Ukraine is not much cheaper than a similar Renault or Citroen. And after the re-equipment, it costs even more than European analogues: the body needs to be strengthened, thermal and noise insulation for Europeans is already “in the base”, the same with comfort and security systems. As a result, the Gazelle is far from the most inexpensive chassis in Ukraine.
In addition to economic reasons, there are also purely legal aspects. The second reason is legal. Namely, minibuses of the Gorky Automobile Plant, such as Gazelle, Gazelle Next, Sobol of all modifications, are not included in the list of basic vehicles allowed for the production of medical vehicles, approved by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. That is, an ambulance based on the Gazelle in Ukraine is simply impossible to register with the traffic police.
The third reason is competition. If the choice of Gazelle is fundamental, Citius can supply such a car and make an ambulance of any class on its basis. But the final cost will be higher than that of an ambulance based on a European counterpart, for example, Renault Master. And the performance and reliability are simply incomparable. In addition, difficulties with registering such a car are guaranteed.”
But, perhaps, one of the old Gazelles preserved in Kyiv came to the call? This is also not the case: its livery is not similar to Ukrainian ambulances, which have a double red stripe under the windows, and no emblem on the front door.
But the GAZelle, according to the Ukrainian police, is very similar to the vehicles of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies.
Because of the darkness, it is difficult to understand whether she has a solid strip under the windows or, as it is supposed to be in the Ministry of Emergency Situations, orange-blue-orange. But otherwise, the similarity is obvious: both in the emblem on the door, although it is impossible to discern which emblem it is, and in the fact that the colored strip does not continue on the wing (some of the vehicles of the Ministry of Emergency Situations have such a design feature).
However, if the strip is still solid, the GAZelle looks more like an ambulance of the so-called DPR.
So, apparently, the Ukrainian police are right: the video was not filmed in Kyiv and not in the territory controlled by Ukraine at all.