A video shared on Facebook claims to show a Russian cruise missile hitting Kyiv, Ukraine.

Verdict: False

The video is from January 2022 and shows a rocket attack in Iraq, not Ukraine.

Fact Check: 

Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine Thursday, days after Russia recognized the independence of two separatist-controlled areas in eastern Ukraine, according to The New York Times. Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv has since been bombarded by Russian missile strikes and threatened by troop movements, the outlet reported.

The Facebook video, which shows lights bursting in the sky followed by an explosion, claims to show a Russian cruise missile landing in Kyiv during the first wave of attacks Thursday. “Yesterday Night when attack started A cruise missile fired by the Russian army fell on Kiev,” reads the video’s caption. The video was also shared widely on Twitter, with one iteration being viewed over 200,000 times before being removed.

The footage predates the Russian invasion of Ukraine, however. A reverse image search revealed it was shared on Twitter by BBC Arabic Correspondent Rafid Jaboori on Jan. 13 with a caption that indicates it took place in Baghdad, Iraq.

#Iraq violence
2 injured in a rocket attack on the heavily fortified Green Zone in #Baghdad , meanwhile rivalry btw anti-US cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr & Frm PM Maliki hinders the formation of a new government pic.twitter.com/X2JEFvBCYX

— Rafid Jaboori رافد جبّوري (@RafidFJ) January 13, 2022

“#Iraq violence 2 injured in a rocket attack on the heavily fortified Green Zone in #Baghdad , meanwhile rivalry btw anti-US cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr & Frm PM Maliki hinders the formation of a new government,” Jaboori tweeted. (RELATED: Does This Video Show Resistance Fighters Shooting Down A Pakistani Jet In Afghanistan?)

On Jan. 13, the U.S. Embassy in Iraq was targeted by approximately four rockets that were allegedly fired by pro-Iran assailants, according to The New York Times. One of these rockets hit a school near a residential complex, injuring a woman and a child, Al-Jazeera reported.

Several videos on social media have been falsely attributed to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Check Your Fact recently debunked a video that purportedly showed a group of Russian paratroopers landing inside Ukraine.