FACT CHECK: Does This Image Show A Ukrainian Farmer Towing A Rocket?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook claims to show a Ukrainian farmer towing a rocket with a tractor.

Verdict: False

The photo has been digitally edited to include the tractor. The original image shows the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Fact Check:

As the war in Ukraine rages on, the tractor has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance, according to Vice. Numerous unconfirmed videos and images circulating on social media appear to show Ukrainian farmers towing abandoned Russian military equipment with their tractors, the outlet reported.

One Facebook image claims to show a Ukrainian tractor towing what appears to be a rocket along a road. The image is captioned, “Go Ukrainian Farmers, Salute,” followed by three Ukrainian flag emojis.

The image is an altered version of a photo that predates the war in Ukraine. A reverse image search revealed the original photo can be found on Getty Images, where it was published in 2018. Notably, there is no tractor visible in the original image. The caption explains the rocket visible in the photo is a spacecraft.

“The Soyuz rocket is rolled out by train to the launch pad, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan,” reads the caption. “Expedition 57 crewmembers Nick Hague of NASA and Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch on October 11 and will spend the next six months living and working aboard the International Space Station.”

The same image was shared on the stock photo website Alamy in 2018 with a caption that identified the rocket as the “Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft.” (RELATED: Does This Image Show A Ukrainian Tank Involved In The 2003 Invasion of Iraq?)

The scheduled Oct. 11, 2018 launch ended in failure due to a rocket booster collision that destroyed the rocket, according to Ars Technica. Both astronauts escaped safely, the outlet reported.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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