FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show A Russian Missile Strike On A Ukrainian Building?
A video shared on Facebook purportedly shows Russian missiles destroying a building that belonged to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
Verdict: False
The video, filmed in 2021, shows Israeli missiles hitting a building in Gaza. It has nothing to do with the Ukrainian conflict.
Fact Check:
Russia has launched over 1,000 missiles at Ukraine since its invasion started in February, with a portion of those strikes damaging and destroying civilian targets, according to Newsweek. Russia has also begun using Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles against Ukraine, allegedly due to a low missile stockpile, Politico reported.
The Facebook video shows several missiles hitting a building, completely destroying it. “Three missiles, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence building was instantly razed to the ground,” reads the video’s caption.
A reverse image search revealed that the video is from May 2021 and was taken in Gaza amid fighting between Israel and Hamas. The video was published by ABC News on its verified Twitter account at the time.
Video shows the moment an Israeli airstrike hit and leveled the 14-story Al-Shorouk Tower in Gaza amid an escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas. https://t.co/Zwdwp29nE2 pic.twitter.com/O3xPEoCR20
— ABC News (@ABC) May 13, 2021
“Video shows the moment an Israeli airstrike hit and leveled the 14-story Al-Shorouk Tower in Gaza amid an escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas,” reads the tweet. (RELATED: Did The Russian Ambassador To The UN Say That Donald Trump Was Overthrown?)
The building reportedly housed Hamas leaders and the group’s main TV channel and was targeted by Israeli Defense Forces following an escalation in tensions between the two, the New York Post reported at the time.
There are currently no reports from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on their website or via their social media that suggest one of their buildings was hit with an airstrike. Likewise, there are no reports from any news outlets, such as The New York Times or ABC News, of such a development.
Several videos of explosions and other airstrikes have been misattributed to the conflict in Ukraine. Check Your Fact recently debunked a video that falsely claimed to show a power plant exploding in Ukraine after it was hit by Russian airstrikes.
