FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show Ukrainian Soldiers In Chechnya?
A video shared on Facebook claims to show Ukrainian soldiers in Chechnya during a conflict in 1999.
Verdict: False
The video is from a 2014 French film. There is no evidence to suggest Ukrainian troops were in Chechnya in 1999.
Fact Check:
Chechen soldiers were deployed to Ukraine Feb. 26 to aid in Russia’s invasion of the country, according to Reuters. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov admitted that at least two Chechen soldiers died during the invasion as of March 1, The Moscow Times reported.
The video, allegedly filmed on Oct. 16, 1999, shows the purported moments before a Ukrainian soldier guns down a Chechen man. “This is what the Ukrainian army did when they entered the land of Chechnya and executed an old man who was reading Surat Al-Fatihah with his wife without mercy,” reads part of the post’s caption.
The video is not genuine. A reverse image search revealed the “footage” is from a 2014 French film called “The Search” that is currently available on YouTube. The scene featured in the Facebook video occurs within the first five minutes of the film. (RELATED: Does This Video Show A Russian Fighter Jet Being Shot Down In Ukraine?)
“A French woman who works for a non-governmental organization forms a special relationship with a lost young boy in war-torn Chechnya in 1999,” reads the film’s description on IMDb.
Russian forces entered Chechnya in 1994 and again in 1999 following years of instability and a wave of terrorist bombings in Russia that were linked to Chechen militants, according to History.com. There are no credible news reports or histories that suggest Ukraine played any role in Russia’s military actions in Chechnya.
