Putin did not end the COVID pandemic, nor did Israel’s attack on Iran end the war in Ukraine

Immunization and past infections, not Putin and his military invasion of Ukraine, contributed to ending the COVID pandemic. As for the claim in the post that Netanyahu, through Israel’s attack on Iran, somehow liberated the world from Ukraine, it does not hold water either. First, Ukraine is not an aggressor or a threat to world security, so the idea that the world is getting rid of it is unfounded. Russia continues its military aggression, and the world and domestic media outlets are reporting on it

We analyze a Facebook post that says:

On February 24, 2022, Putin miraculously freed the entire world from the coronavirus in one day. Did Netanyahu no less miraculously free the entire world from Ukraine on June 13, 2025?

The statement in the post that “Putin miraculously freed the entire world from the coronavirus in one day” is not accurate. The time period of the declaration of the end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency and the time when Putin attacked Ukraine do not correspond. Russia’s aggressive unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine occurred on February 24, 2022. The WHO declared the end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency on May 5, 2023. The two events are not related to each other, and Putin had even less to do with the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other, epidemiological factors contributed to the end of the pandemic.

A year before the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic was in a downward trend as immunity from vaccination and past infections increased. During this period, mortality rates were falling and pressure on health systems was easing. Throughout this period, the Emergency Committee and the World Health Organization carefully analyzed the data, considering when the right time would be to reduce the level of alarm about the pandemic.

Yesterday, the Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice. It is therefore with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency. However, that does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on May 5, 2023 .

The COVID emergency is over, but while it lasted, it was marked by coronavirus variants such as Delta and Omicron that caused an increase in cases and hospitalizations. During the pandemic, Covid-19 vaccines saved millions of lives. From late January 2022 to May 2023, daily reported Covid cases decreased by 92 percent and deaths by 80 percent. As did new hospitalizations, which decreased by 80 percent during this time interval.

It was this, not Putin and his military invasion of Ukraine, that contributed to ending the COVID pandemic.

As for the claim in the post that Netanyahu, with Israel’s attack on Iran, has freed the world from Ukraine, it also does not hold water. First, Ukraine is not an aggressor or a threat to world security, so the idea that the world is getting rid of it is unfounded. Russia continues its military aggression, and the world and domestic media outlets are reporting on it.

From all of the above, we can conclude that neither Putin put an end to the COVID pandemic, nor did Israel end the Russian military invasion of Ukraine with its attack on Iran.

Therefore, we assess the post as untrue.

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