FACT CHECK: Video Shows Ukrainian Missile Strikes, Not Iranian Retaliation

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

A video shared on X claims to show Iranian retaliation strikes on Israel.

Verdict: False

The video is from March 2024 and shows Ukrainian missile strikes on Russian assets, not the Iranian response to Israel.

Fact Check:

Iran has vowed to retaliate against Israel after the latter killed several senior ranking Iranian officers in a strike, according to  The New York Times.

Social media users are sharing a video of explosions, claiming it shows Iranian retaliation against Israel. One user wrote,” R E A K I N G A L E R T – Iran has started to attack israeli occupied TelAviv with heavy missiles; fires of hell are burning, several buildings destroyed.”

This claim is false. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the video is from March 2024. It was taken in Sevastopol, which is occupied by Russia. The video was shared to X by OSINTtechnical.

“Sevastopol, multiple Ukrainian Storm Shadow cruise missile slam into a Russian target,” the tweet reads.

The claim was also debunked by BBC Verify reporter Shayan Sardarizadeh. (RELATED: Donald Trump Claims He Defeated ISIS In 4 Weeks)

“This video is being widely shared tonight with false claims that it shows an Iranian missile attack on Israel in retaliation for the deadly strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. In fact, the video shows Ukrainian missiles target Russian ships in Sevastopol on 23 March,” Sardarizadeh tweeted.

Ukraine claimed it hit two Russian naval vessels during the attack, according to CNN. One vessel, the Yuri Ivanov, was visually confirmed to have been damaged in March, according to open-source intelligence website WarSpotting.

The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense (MOD) stated that three vessels were damaged in the strike in a March 29 tweet.

“Analysis of imagery identified one building had been structurally damaged, including a partial roof collapse, and two additional buildings had suffered blast damage. Two Ropucha-class landing ships, tanks and one Yury Ivanov-class intelligence ship were also damaged in the strikes,” the UK MOD said.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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