Twitter removes Russian embassy tweets over Mariupol hospital bombing, victim

Twitter removed multiple tweets posted by the Russian Embassy in London about the bombing of a children’s hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, and one of its victims, saying the tweets “were in violation of the Twitter Rules.”

The Russian Embassy posted several tweets on Thursday regarding the bombing, which Ukraine reported on Wednesday, The Guardian reported.

Ukrainian officials said that three people had been killed and 17 others injured in the attack. One of the Russian Embassy’s tweets suggested the officials’ account was fake. 

In the post, the embassy claimed “the maternity house was long non-operational” and alleged it had been used by Ukrainian “armed forces and radicals.” The post also included two photos presumed to be related to the bombing with the word “FAKE” in red printed over the images, according to a screenshot included by The Guardian.

In another tweet, the embassy posted a photo of one of the victims of the bombing and another woman holding makeup. 

“No, it’s the indeed pregnant [Ukrainian] beauty blogger Marianna Podgurskaya. She actually played roles of both pregnant women on the photos,” the embassy alleged, according to another screenshot included by The Guardian.

The embassy further claimed the photos were taken by a “famous propagandist photographer.”

The news outlet noted that multiple U.K. officials said the embassy’s posts were “fake news” and “disinformation.”

“We took enforcement action against the Tweets you referenced as they were in violation of the Twitter Rules, specifically our Abusive Behavior policy related to the denial of violent events,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement. 

The development comes two weeks after Russia began its invasion into Ukraine. The conflict has been widely condemned by the international community, and social media companies have demonetized and restricted access to content from Russian state media on their platforms. Russia, in turn, has blocked access to Twitter and Facebook within the country.

The Hill has reached out to the Russian Embassy in London for comment.