No, these visuals of airstrikes and associated firing are not related to the Russia-Ukraine crisis (2022) - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 15, 2022
A number of videos showing airstrikes and associated firing are being shared widely on social media with several claims that they are related to the current Russia-Ukraine crisis of 2022. The visuals are being shared in the context of Russia’s recent announcement of military operations against Ukraine. Let’s fact-check the claims made in the posts.
Post 1:
Claim: Video of a Russian fighter jet shot down by Ukrainian Air Defense.
Fact: It is an old video. The video shows a jet shot down by Libyan rebels more than a decade ago. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The extended version of the same video was found to be uploaded by the ‘Associated Press’ on YouTube, in 2011, with the title – “Raw Video: Plane Shot Down by Libyan Rebels”.
Post 2:
Claim: Video of a Russian aircraft shot down by the Ukraine Military.
Fact: The video was neither taken in Russia nor Ukraine. The video shows an old incident related to China. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The same visuals can be found in an article published by the ‘Daily Mail’ in 2020. The heading of the article is – “Taiwan denies shooting down a Chinese Su-35 fighter jet after social media footage shows crashed plane on fire”.
Post 3:
Claim: Video of Russian military paratroopers landing in Ukraine.
Fact: It is an old video. The same video is on the internet at least since September 2016. So, it is not related to the current Russia-Ukraine crisis. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On 04 September 2016, a Twitter user has posted the same video which can be seen here.
Post 4:
Claim: Recent video of a drone attack against Russian Forces.
Fact: The video is not related to the current Russia-Ukraine crisis. It does not show any recent drone attacks. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The same video (mirrored visuals of the posted video) can be found tweeted by ‘Clash Report’, in March 2020, with the description – “A #Syrian #Regime convoy consisting of tanks and armored vehicles were completely destroyed by #TB2 armed #UAVs, near #MaratAlNuman, South #Idlib.”
Post 5:
Claim: Recent video of Ukrainian sky getting lit up by the firing.
Fact: The video does not show a real-life incident. The video was posted by a 3D Animator in October 2021. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
The same video can be found to be uploaded by a 3D Animator on Instagram in October 2021. The post can be seen here.
Post 6:
Claim: Video of helicopters firing in current Russia versus Ukraine war.
Fact: The video was taken during the EFES-2018 Military Exercise, which was held in Turkey. Hence the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
In an article published by the ‘Yeni Safak’ website, the same video can be found with the description – ‘Footage shows domestically-produced Turkish ATAK helicopters perfectly striking targets during the EFES 2018 military drill’.
Also, when other videos were shared with similar claims, FACTLY has debunked them and wrote fact-check articles, which can be read here, here, and here.
However, several media agencies have reported multiple attacks by the Russian forces on Ukrainian cities recently. Some of the recent visuals from Ukraine can be seen here, here, and here.
To sum it up, the above visuals posted by different social media users are not related to the current Russia-Ukraine crisis.
Update (15 March 2022):Another video is being shared claiming that it shows Russian fighter jets attacking F22 Raptor fighter aircraft in Ukrainian airspace
Claim: Video of Russian fighter jets attacking F22 Raptor fighter aircrafts in Ukrainian airspace.
Fact: The video shared in the post shows the recent visuals of Russian Su-25 aircraft popping flares and flying over Kherson city in Ukraine. F22 Raptor is an all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed and run by the US Air Force. US Department of Defense in a press conference clarified that they don’t have any manned or unmanned aircraft flying in Ukrainian airspace. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
On reverse image search of the screenshots in the video, videos with similar visuals were found tweeted by a few defence analysts on Twitter. They can be seen here and here. They mentioned it as visuals of Russian Su-25 aircraft popping flares and flying over Kherson city in Ukraine. An extended version of the video can be seen here. F-22 Raptor is an all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed and run by the US Air Force. US Department of Defense official in a recent press conference stated that they don’t have any manned or unmanned aircraft flying in Ukrainian airspace.