This viral photo shows damage from a Ukrainian missile strike on Russia in May 2024, it has nothing to do with India-Pakistan conflict
A photo going viral on social media (here, here, and here) claims to show the wreckage of India’s S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile (LR SAM) system, allegedly destroyed by Pakistani forces during the recent May 2025 military escalations. Let’s verify the truth behind this photo in this article.
Claim: The photo shows wreckage of India’s S-400 missile system destroyed by Pakistani forces during recent military escalations.
Fact: The photo shows damage caused by a Ukrainian missile strike on a Russian military base in the Donetsk region in May 2024. It depicts a damaged Russian S-400 air defence system and related equipment after the attack. Official sources, including the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check and military officials, have denied any damage to India’s S-400 system during the recent conflict. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A Google Lens search of the viral photo led us to multiple media reports (here, here, here, and here) from May 2024 featuring the same photo, confirming that it was available on the internet before the 2025 India-Pakistan conflict. These reports linked the photo to a Ukrainian missile strike on 22 May 2024 in the Mospine district of Donetsk. The strike reportedly targeted a Russian S-400 air defence system, damaging its 96L6E radar and destroying the system’s command post. It was also reported that two S-300/400 launchers were destroyed, and one was damaged in the precision attack.
According to reports (here and here) from May 2024, a Russian military base near the village of Mospyne in the occupied Donbass region was attacked around 12:50 p.m., resulting in significant damage to Russian equipment, including air defence installations.
We also came across an X post by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check dated 10 May 2025, which stated that “reports of destruction or any damage to an S-400 system are baseless.” During a press conference following the ceasefire between New Delhi and Islamabad on the same day, Colonel Sofiya Qureshi also dismissed Pakistan’s claim, saying, “Pakistan claimed that it damaged our S-400 and BrahMos missile base with its JF-17, which is completely false.”
However, we could not independently verify the location shown in the viral photo. Based on the available evidence, it is clear that the photo is unrelated to the India-Pakistan clash and does not depict any alleged wreckage of India’s S-400 missile system destroyed by Pakistani forces during recent military escalations.
To sum up, the viral photo does not show India’s S-400 wreckage caused by Pakistan; it shows damage from a Ukrainian missile strike on Russia in May 2024.