Did U.S. Special Forces arrest Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on U.S. soil as of November 17, 2023? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer confirmed for Lead Stories that this claim is false. The website where this claim was published carries a disclaimer saying it publishes "humor, parody and satire."
The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on November 15, 2023, titled "Special Forces Arrest Ukrainian Criminals in U.S." (archived here) that opened:
United States Special Forces on Monday arrested Ukraine presidential aide Andriy Yermak and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko as the duo's diplomatic motorcade prepared to leave a Deep State meeting at a Virginia studio whose interior mimicked the White House Diplomatic Reception Room, a source in General Eric M. Smith's office told Real Raw News.
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Special Forces Arrest Ukrainian Criminals in U.S.
United States Special Forces on Monday arrested Ukraine presidential aide Andriy Yermak and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko as the duo's diplomatic motorcade prepared to leave a Deep State meeting at a Virginia studio whose interior mimicked the White House Diplomatic Reception Room, a source in General Eric M. Smith's office told Real Raw News.
In an email to Lead Stories on November 17, 2023, a Pentagon duty officer confirmed to Lead Stories that this claim is false:
Not true at all
A November 15, 2023, post (archived here) on the X platform, formerly Twitter, shows that Yermak was active on his social media account the day this article was published, two days after the purported arrest. In the post, he is in a picture with Svyrydenko at a meeting with members of the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.
Svyrydenko was also active on her verified social media account on the day this article was published, as seen in this November 15, 2023, post (archived here) on the X platform. She was photographed meeting with members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate alongside Yermak.
Under the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, the military does not have the authority to arrest civilians. This act can be voided under certain circumstances explicitly authorized by the U.S. Constitution or Act of Congress. Congress.gov does not show legislation making such authorization.
Real Raw News
Real Raw News has a long history of publishing false claims in mock news stories, many of them about convictions and executions of various public figures at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. For example, the site reported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hanged (she wasn't); former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta was executed (he wasn't); and "the military" convicted former Attorney General William Barr on charges of treason (it didn't).
The website for Real Raw News includes a disclaimer that declares the site does not stand by the contents of the stories, calling them entertainment. Specifically, it says:
Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. ... We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice on legal counsel.
(Source: RealRawNews.com screenshot taken Tue Aug 3 16:39:48 UTC 2021)
Lead Stories has covered claims published by Real Raw News in the past. Previous Lead Stories debunks of Real Raw News items are collected here.
