A video shared on Facebook claims to show the transfer of the “Blessed Sacrament” from a cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine to a bunker.

Verdict: False

The video dates back to 2015 and shows a funeral procession.

Fact Check:

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues into its fourth week, Ukrainian forces are mounting a counteroffensive in parts of the country, including Kyiv, to repel Russian troops, according to The Wall Street Journal. U.S. officials estimate around 7,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the three weeks of fighting, The New York Times reported.

The Facebook video shows a procession of cars making their way along a stretch of road as onlookers kneel on the side of the road. “Transfer of the Blessed Sacrament from Kiev Cathedral to a bunker; the last time was in WWII; people kneeling in Adoration,” the post’s caption claims. The video also went viral on Twitter, with one iteration receiving over 377,000 views.

The “Blessed Sacrament” refers to the “Eucharist as one of the seven sacraments instituted by Christ to be received by the faithful,” according to catholicculture.org.

The video predates the Ukraine conflict and does not show the transfer of the Eucharist. A reverse image search revealed the video was uploaded to YouTube in 2015 with a title that translates to, “Look, Russian brothers, how Ukrainians meet the cyborg hero.” The video appears to be a funeral procession for a Ukrainian soldier who was killed while defending Donetsk Airport in eastern Ukraine from Russian-backed separatist forces in 2014. The soldiers defending the airport were nicknamed “cyborgs” in honor of their spirited resistance, according to BBC News. 

A Ukrainian journalist based in Kyiv told Catholic News Agency that the video did not show a “procession with the Holy Gifts.” (RELATED: Does This Footage Show Destruction In Ukraine?)

“This is not a procession with the Holy Gifts. It carries the body of slain soldiers who defended the homeland. The video features a song that Ukrainians sing when they say goodbye to folk heroes,” the journalist said.

Check Your Fact recently debunked an image that claimed to show a group of Ukrainian Christians praying days before the conflict broke out.