In reality, the visa center, which helps to obtain visas to the UK, has long since moved to another address. As a result of the Russian shelling, the building where it is currently located was not damaged, and it continues to operate. This visa center is a commercial structure and is formally in no way connected with the British government.
Russian propagandists are spreading the news that the UK Visa Center in Kyiv allegedly shut down after the Russian shelling on the night of June 10. This news is presented as «revenge» by the UK for «the country’s participation in terrorist attacks on Russian territory» — so naturally subscribers of pro-Russian sources react to the news with scorn: «can we also hit Britain», «I hope someone was injured?».
However, this news is fake. It is likely that the propagandists didn’t pay attention to a video by photojournalist Yan Dobronosov, which they themselves shared — in which the man says that the building used to house a British visa center. This is the Artem business center in Podil, which was indeed seriously damaged by debris: the building burned out, and the windows and glass flew out of the windows. Fortunately, no one was injured. The premises of the British visa center were not damaged either, because the center moved to a different address a few years ago. The building where the institution is now located was not attacked and continues to operate successfully. Moreover, the visa center in Kyiv is a commercial structure that helps Ukrainian citizens obtain visas to the United Kingdom, and is in no way connected with the embassy. Therefore, the propagandists’ statements about «revenge» make no sense in any case.
In addition to the Artem business center, a number of other civilian buildings in Kyiv and the region were damaged on June 10, in particular in the Fastiv, Brovary, Boryspil, and Obukhiv districts. Rescue services recorded partial destruction and fires in high-rise buildings and private houses, in cars and warehouses. Among other things, debris damaged the Spartak stadium. Four men were injured in the attack, and a 72-year-old resident of Obolon died.
As a reminder, the fake about the British visa center is only part of a broader Russian propaganda campaign against the United Kingdom. The Russian authorities recently recognized the British Council — a British institution designed to develop cooperation in the fields of education, culture, and the arts between the United Kingdom and other countries — as an «undesirable organization». Although the British Council has not been operating in Russia since 2018, the Prosecutor General’s Office has accused the organization of «conducting operations against the sovereignty of other countries» and «actively supporting and promoting the banned LGBT movement».
Read the refutation of another fake about the consequences of Russian shelling in the article Photo Fake: Ukrainian F16 Base Completely Destroyed After Russian Iskander Missile Strikes.
