Fact Check

Does Video Show Ukrainian Tank Crash Through Russian Barrier in 2022?

This miscaptioned video dates back to 2014.

Published March 8, 2022

 (TikTok)
Image Via TikTok
Claim:
A video shows a Ukrainian tank crashing through a Russian barrier in 2022.

In March 2022, as Russia continued its attack on Ukraine, a video that supposedly showed a Ukrainian tank crashing through a barricade racked up millions of views on TikTok.

This video predated the 2022 conflict in Ukraine. It was filmed in 2014. While Russia Today (RT), a television network owned by the Russian state, did air this footage in 2014, it doesn't appear that they re-ran it eight years later as if it showed an incident from Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

While this video is not recent, it was taken during a conflict that mirrors the current battle in Ukraine. It was taken in May 2014 during the Battle of Mariupol, shortly after Russia annexed Crimea. The New York Times reported at the time:

In recent weeks, Ukrainian Army units have taken up positions outside many of the cities in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian militants have seized buildings and proclaimed an independent Donetsk People’s Republic. In that time, they attacked a few rebel-held checkpoints, but until Friday had not undertaken a frontal assault on any of the buildings held by the separatists.

Reuters added:

In east Ukraine, where pro-Moscow rebels plan a referendum on Sunday to follow Crimea in breaking from Kiev, at least seven people were killed and dozens were wounded in chaotic fighting in the centre of the port of Mariupol.

One of the most serious clashes yet between Ukrainian forces and separatists, it edged the former Soviet republic closer to civil war.

The head of NATO, locked in its gravest confrontation with Russia since the Cold War, condemned Putin’s visit to Crimea, whose annexation in March has not been recognised by Western powers. He also renewed doubts over an assurance by the Kremlin leader that he had pulled back troops from the Ukrainian border.

The pro-Western government in Kiev, labelled “fascist” by Moscow, said Putin’s visit was intended to escalate the crisis.

Here's a copy of the video from Military.com:

https://www.military.com/video/combat-vehicles/weapons-carriers/ukrainian-army-apc-jumps-barrier/3560066174001

While this video is real and shows a tank crashing through a barricade, it was not taken during Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Sources

“Bloody Assault in Mariupol Dashes Hopes of Avoiding Civil War.” The Independent, 10 May 2014, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-crisis-bloody-assault-in-mariupol-dashes-hopes-of-avoiding-civil-war-9347972.html.

Fast & Furious in Ukraine: APCs Speed up, Ram Barricades. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1XA2dYhQKA. Accessed 8 Mar. 2022.

Kramer, Andrew E. “Ukrainian Forces Attack Militant-Held Police Station.” The New York Times, 9 May 2014. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/10/world/europe/ukraine-forces-destroy-police-building-in-restive-east.html.

“Pushed from Slaviansk, Ukraine Rebels Barricade Donetsk.” Reuters, 7 July 2014. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-crisis-idUKKBN0FC11520140707.

“Putin Marks Victory Day in Crimea as Ukraine Violence Flares.” Reuters, 9 May 2014. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-crisis-idUKKBN0DP0VQ20140509.

vlogger. “Ukrainian Army APC Jumps Barrier.” Military.Com, 12 May 2014, https://www.military.com/video/combat-vehicles/weapons-carriers/ukrainian-army-apc-jumps-barrier/3560066174001.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.

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