Lloyd Austin alive and undergoing cancer treatment, not killed in Ukraine | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
·3 min read
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The claim: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was killed in Ukraine on Jan. 3

A Jan. 7 article from Real Raw News claims a Russian attack in Ukraine killed a top U.S. official.

“Criminal Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was allegedly killed in Kyiv on January 3 when Russian cruise missiles peltered a command bunker where Austin and Lieutenant General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander in chief of the Ukrainian Army, met secretly,” the article reads.

The story was shared over 250 times on Facebook in four days, according to CrowdTangle, a social media analytics tool.

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Our rating: False

Austin is alive. His hospitalization since Jan. 1 in Maryland for complications following prostate cancer surgery has been international news corroborated by hospital officials, the Department of Defense and the White House. Austin resumed his full duties as secretary of defense on Jan. 5 and released a statement on Jan. 6. The report comes from a publication that routinely publishes fabricated stories.

Austin traveled, worked before medical procedure, hospitalization

On Dec. 22, 2023, Austin underwent surgery for prostate cancer at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, according to a release from hospital officials and the Department of Defense. On Jan. 1, Austin suffered severe complications and has remained at the hospital since.

Austin's illness launched him into headlines, in large part, because President Joe Biden and other top officials were not alerted to his hospitalization for days, which goes against normal protocol.

Austin is recovering and "in good spirits," according to a Jan. 8 release from the Department of Defense. He resumed his full duties as secretary on Jan. 5. The next day, Austin himself released a public statement acknowledging that he "could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better."

The Real Raw News article also falsely claimed Austin had been in Ukraine from November 2023 until his supposed assassination on Jan. 3. His documented travels show he hasn't been in Ukraine for nearly two months.

Austin went to Ukraine on Nov. 20, 2023, to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials to reinforce the United States' support for Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia. But by Nov. 22, 2023, Austin was back in Washington and hosted a virtual meeting with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an alliance of close to 50 nations committed to supporting Ukraine.

He was photographed at several events in December 2023, including during a speech on Dec. 2 at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California. He attended the Army-Navy football game in Massachusetts on Dec. 9, 2023, where photos showed him on the field conducting the coin toss and interacting with the crowd. On Dec. 16, 2023, Austin was filmed getting on a plane for his travels to the Middle East, where he met with officials in Israel, Bahrain and Qatar.

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Real Raw News is a serial spreader of misinformation that often publishes fabricated stories about "white hats" trying to undermine "the deep state" by arresting government officials. USA TODAY has previously debunked numerous other claims about the arrests of high-profile figures stemming from the website.

Real Raw News could not be reached for comment.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lloyd Austin was not killed in Ukraine on Jan. 3 | Fact check