FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show A Train Carrying Russian Military Vehicles Being Derailed Near Ukraine?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

A video shared on Facebook claims to show a derailed train carrying Russian military vehicles in the Russian city of Bryansk.

Verdict: Misleading

While the video does show a derailed Russian train, the incident is from 2017 and took place in eastern Russia, not Bryansk.

Fact Check: 

Large fires spread through two oil depots in Bryansk, Russia on Monday, with Russian officials accusing Ukraine of conducting strikes within the country, according to The New York Times. A Russian ammunition dump in the city of Belgorod also caught fire April 27, the Moscow Times reported.

The Facebook video purportedly shows a derailed Russian train carrying Russian military vehicles in the Bryansk region, which lies next to Ukraine. “A funny thing happened to a train with moscovite scrapmetal tanks just outside the border with Ukraine, in Bryansk region,” reads the video’s caption.

The video predates the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. A reverse image search revealed it was first uploaded to YouTube in 2017 with the title, “Platforms with military equipment derailed in Chita.” Chita is a city in eastern Russia, according to Britannica. Bryansk and Chita are over 6,000 kilometers apart, according to Google Maps. (RELATED: No, This Is Not Footage Of A Ukrainian Missile Blowing Up A Russian Naval Vessel)

The Russian news outlet Interfax reported on the incident at the time and noted 13 railroad cars derailed but no one was seriously hurt.

A train did recently derail in the Bryansk region earlier in April after an embankment underneath the tracks collapsed, according to Newsweek. The line, which was used to transport equipment and ammunition to Russian troops in Ukraine, was severely damaged and several cars were overturned, the outlet reported.

Several videos and photos have been misattributed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Check Your Fact previously debunked a video claiming to show Russian soldiers planting a Soviet flag in Mariupol, Ukraine.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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