A video shared on Facebook claims to show staged combat in Ukraine.

Verdict: Misleading

The video shows training, not actual combat.

Fact Check:

Social media users are sharing a video of what appears to be Ukrainian troops dragging another before stopping. The video implies that they are staging combat for the Russian-Ukrainian war.

“The militants are very brave and courageous. No one is being abandoned’… And, oh, sorry, the camera person got into the shot, let’s do it again! Oscar-worthy actors serve in the AFU!” reads the text accompanying the Facebook video.

Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the video does not show combat but training. The same video was shared on TikTok by a Ukrainian in July 2023. The video is captioned, “It is better to test yourself and really evaluate strength, during educational tasks…” and the hashtags mention dftg12 and the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk. 

@yar0slav_yar0slav Краще випробувати себе та реально оцінити свої сили, під час навчальних задач…#кременчук #вишкіл #україна #дфтг12 ♬ оригінальний звук – Ярослав

The tag DFTG12 seems to be about the Educational and Training Center 12. The center published images of a training that match the Facebook video. The head of the Educational and Training Center 12 told AFP Fact Check that the individuals videoed are practicing pulling wounded people out of combat. (RELATED: Pentagon Claims Last Time U.S. Used Cluster Munitions Was In 2003)

Social media users often share videos with miscaptioned descriptions. For example, Check Your Fact previously debunked a video claiming to show the Ukrainian president dancing with a rocket launcher.