No, Vladimir Putin Has Not Ordered the Destruction of COVID-19 Vaccines
There is no evidence to support the claim that Russian Prez Putin has ordered the destruction of COVID-19 vaccines.
Fact-Check | There is no evidence to support the claim stating that the Russian President has ordered the destruction of COVID-19 vaccines.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Altered by The Quint)
The screenshot of an article which mentions that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the destruction of all COVID-19 vaccines in the country is going viral. Several users had also added the link to the article in the caption.
An archive of the post can be seen here.
(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)
Are these claims true?: No, there is no evidence to prove that Putin issues such an order. Furthermore, the article going viral was published on 4 March on a website called 'Real Raw News'. The website's "about us" section mentions that it contains humour, parody, and satirical content.
The website carries a disclaimer in the"about us" section.
Ironically...: On 4 March, TASS - a Russian news agency - published a report which mentioned a press release from the Ministry of Health.
It said that batches of Sputnik V vaccines had been sent to Moscow and other regions. However, the other regions were not specified.
The press release also said that the vaccine protects against COVID-19. It mentioned, "Vaccination and timely revaccination are especially relevant for people over 60 and people with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular, diabetes and others."
The report was published on 4 March, the same day as the viral article.
No such order is available in the public domain: We checked the official website of the Kremlin but did not come across any such order that directed the destruction of COVID-19 vaccines.
Further, no credible news reports were available which talked about such an order from the Russian President.
Conclusion: A fabricated article from a website which publishes "satire, parody, and humour" content is being shared to claim that the Russian President has ordered the destruction of all COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
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