As Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, video of an explosion has started doing rounds on social media with a claim that it is of a recent explosion in Ukraine.
The video is being shared with the caption, “Ukraine explosion fires started by Russian airstrike set off a chain reaction at Luhansk power plant. #worldwar3 #RussiaUkraineConflict #Russia #Ukraine #Airstrike #Luhansk #powerplant #WWIII #WorldWar3 #VladimirPutin.”
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the post and found the claim to be misleading.
A simple Reverse Image Search on keyframes of the video led us to a report by BBC dated August 14, 2015, featuring the same video. The title of the report read, “Tianjin explosion video captures the fear of eyewitnesses – BBC News.”
The description of the video read, “Footage of two massive explosions in the Chinese city of Tianjin, taken by a stunned eyewitness, captured the fear and terror of those who saw what happened. Dozens of people died and hundreds were injured when a warehouse owned by a company specialising in handling hazardous goods caught fire and exploded. City officials say they still did not know what materials were at the warehouse at the time of the fire, or what caused the blasts. Eyewitness Dan van Duren filmed the moment of the explosions before he and others fled to avoid the danger.”
Video of the same explosion shot from different angles was also shared by media outlets like CNN and Euro News in August 2015.
Thus it is clear that the video in circulation is a 2015 video of an explosion in Tianjin, China.
Explosion in Ukraine
We also found media reports stating that ‘explosions rang out before dawn Thursday (February 24, 2022) in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and several cities near the frontline and along the country’s coast, after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation’.
The New York Times also shared a different video of the explosion stating that “Minutes after President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in eastern Ukraine, explosions were visible near the city of Kharkiv.”
NewsMobile debunked the same video in 2020 when it was shred as Iranian missile attack on US Airbase.
https://newsmobile.in/articles/2020/01/13/no-this-video-of-an-explosion-is-not-from-the-iranian-missile-attack-on-us-airbase/?fbclid=IwAR2mbU6DSOKJG1LnJDqqEbeTd07Yn8q51WOv0GTHdkt81kW6MXmh0NYR7Ls
Thus is it clear that even though reports of explosions in Ukraine have emerged, the viral video is from 2015. Hence, the post is misleading.
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