FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show A Ukrainian Girl Confronting A Russian Soldier?
A video shared on Facebook claims to show a young Ukrainian girl confronting a Russian soldier amid the conflict in Ukraine.
Verdict: False
The video, taken in 2012, shows a Palestinian girl confronting an Israeli soldier. The video is not from Ukraine.
Fact Check:
A large convoy of Russian forces moved towards the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Tuesday as shelling across the country continues, according to NBC News. Ukraine’s Minister of Defense issued a call for people between the ages of 18 and 60 to defend the country with force, CBS News reported.
A video shared on Facebook purportedly shows a young Ukrainian girl confronting and yelling at an invading Russian soldier before attempting to punch him. The caption alleges the girl is telling the uniformed soldier to “go back to your country.” The same video also appeared on Twitter, garnering over 1 million views and over 3,700 shares. (RELATED: Does This Video Show A Russian Soldier Parachuting Into Ukraine?)
The video is not from Ukraine and predates the current conflict in Ukraine. A reverse image search revealed the video was shared on YouTube in November 2012 and has since garnered over 51 million views. The title, written in Arabic, roughly translates to “Ahed Al-Tamimi – A Palestinian girl facing the occupation soldiers – Nabi Saleh.”
A January 2018 article from BBC, titled “Ahed Tamimi: Spotlight turns on Palestinian viral slap video teen,” identifies the girl in the video as Ahed Tamimi, a well-known Palestinian activist. She was 11 years old when the video was taken, according to BBC. Photos of the 2012 altercation can be found on Getty Images.
Tamimi is known for documenting her confrontations with Israeli soldiers. At age 16, she made headlines when she slapped an Israeli soldier in her village in the Occupied West Bank, leading to an eight-month imprisonment sentence, according to Al-Jazeera.