Video showing a weeping father biding goodbye to departing daughter in east Ukraine

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The broken father saying goodbye to his daughter in a video clip that went viral on social media on Friday after being misinterpreted by some Western media, was actually not fighting the Russia troops, instead he chose to stay in East Ukraine where he is based to fight the Ukrainian army "invading" his homeland.

In the video, the father broke down in tears as he said goodbye to his partner and young daughter as they were about to get on a bus headed for Russia while he decided to remain in East Ukraine to fight the Ukraine soldiers. 

The video was initially posted by Gorlovka Mayor Ivan Prikhodko on Russian social media platform VK on Monday. 

The written description accompanying the original video says, "Residents of Gorlovka are evacuated daily to Russia, fleeing Ukrainian aggression. Today we have witnessed the touching farewell of the head of the family to his wife and daughter, whom he saw off to Russia. The man remained in his city to defend the Donetsk Republic from the Armed Forces of Ukraine with weapons in his hands, with tears in his eyes."

Gorlovka is a major city in the "Donetsk People's Republic" in East Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized as an independent and sovereign state.

The video clip, however, was later misrepresented by a twitter account that goes by the name Marios Komnos, revising the narrative to "Ukrainian father says goodbye to his daughter as he stays behind to fight against Russia." The tweet was loaded online amid the escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine on Friday.

The video was quickly reposted by a group of Westerners who are supporting Ukraine because it was in line with the taste of Western "geopolitical correctness." And eventually, numerous Western news media including the New York Post, the Daily Mail, the Newsweek and the Sun posted the video on their websites without even checking the basic facts. Some Indian media such as the Times of India also disseminated the twisted interpretation.

None of the news outlets have apologized for their mistake as of press time.

Global Times