“In unprecedented numbers”
Videos and photos show a crowd of people waiting for a train in an underground station. According to pro-Kremlin internet users, these photos allegedly capture a mass evacuation of residents from Kyiv. Another photo shows an alleged traffic jam of cars leaving the Ukrainian capital.
One internet user stated: “Ukrainians are fleeing KYIV in unprecedented numbers, as Russia, responding to US-UK-EU-NATO terrorists’ attacks on Russia’s civilian infrastructure, was forced to take off the white gloves and strike NATO occupation forces’ ammunition depots and death industry factories. So far, Russia is accurately targeting only military objects of NATO in Ukraine, but it is only a matter of time before more decisive measures need to be taken (the speech here and further in quotes is unedited – editor’s note).”
As another reason for the evacuation, the internet user mentioned the approaching cold season: “Kyiv residents do not want to stay in the city in winter without heat, electricity, water, or food.”
Traffic jam – on the other side of the world
15min used reverse image search and found out that the photo showing a massive traffic jam was taken not in Kyiv at all. The Dutch publication “De Telegraaf” in 2025 published a video showing the same traffic jam depicted in the photo.
This scene was recorded in China last October. The description states that the traffic jams formed due to the holiday period during which millions of people travel.
The same images were published by other media outlets as well.
Used for manipulation
The video indeed shows Kyiv, although it does not capture a mass evacuation of the capital’s residents.
Ukraine’s Strategic Communications Center (SPRAVDI) denied the false reports claiming that Kyiv residents are massively leaving the capital and that huge queues formed at the station.
According to the center, the footage shows not a railway station but a metro station, specifically Kyiv’s “Osokorky” metro station.
“It is easy to recognize the blue Kyiv metro train with a yellow stripe from the frames. The station itself is recognizable from the murals on the walls. In short, propagandists used a common shot from Kyiv metro, called it a station, and portrayed a usual crowd of passengers as a mass evacuation,” the center assessed the manipulation.
Photos can indeed be found online showing colorful murals on the walls of the “Osokorky” station. They also show the same blue train with a yellow stripe. This means the clip could not have captured an evacuation from Kyiv because metro trains do not travel to other cities.
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Kyiv prepares for winter
Confusion also arose due to reports from Ukrainian media claiming that Kyiv is preparing to relocate about 200,000 residents if necessary. However, this information was later corrected.
The portal “Suspilne” reported this but later apologized for its mistake: “Earlier, ‘Suspilne’ reported about approximately 200,000 city residents who might be relocated due to power outages. We want to clarify that this concerns people who may need targeted city assistance during power outages, not the number of people planned to be relocated.”
After the first message, the Kyiv city administration issued a statement assuring that the capital is preparing for various cold season scenarios, including possible long-term disruptions in electricity, heating, or water supply.
“One of the areas of this work is checking residents who may need additional assistance due to age, health condition, or living circumstances. This primarily involves support at the place of residence and, if necessary, temporary relocation to a prepared place,” said the deputy head of the administration, Marina Honda.
The institution emphasized that evacuation and temporary relocation are different procedures. Currently, the discussion is about possible temporary relocation of individual persons in a crisis situation if prolonged lack of essential utilities poses a real risk to them. This happens only with the consent of the person or their legal representative.
“Currently, a little more than 1,300 lonely elderly people, about 400 disabled children, and 500 disabled adults have expressed willingness to temporarily relocate if needed. This number may still change, especially during the heating season.
Therefore, calling these measures a ‘200,000 Kyiv residents evacuation’ is incorrect,” emphasized M. Honda.
15min verdict: false. There is no mass evacuation in Kyiv due to Russian attacks or the approaching winter season. The photos show a Kyiv metro train, which does not even leave the capital’s limits, and massive traffic jams in China.
Publication prepared by 15min in cooperation with “Meta”, aiming to stop the spread of misleading news on social media. More about the program and its rules – here.
