Footage of War Thunder Video Game Passed Off As Night Bombing on Ukraine

As the Russian assaults on Ukraine intensified, a video apparently showing night bombing is claimed to be from Ukraine. Some news media websites posted this clip while reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Leading daily Saamana shared this clip after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a ‘military operation’ on Ukraine.

Fact Crescendo found that this is video game footage, not a real bombing. 

WHAT’S IN THE CLIP?

The viral clip shows the nightly sky above buildings blazing with the bombing. This clip is being passed off as Russia’s attack on Ukraine. 

Original Link – Facebook । Twitter । Archive

FACT CHECK

Reverse image searches on keyframes revealed that this video is available for about two months. Russia started an attack on Ukraine on 24 February. That means, the clip in question is old and could not be related to the ongoing war. 

The original video was uploaded on Pandramodo’s YouTube channel on 15 December 2021. The title of the video is “The Iron Dome in War Thunder”. 

Fact Crescendo contacted the owner of this YouTube account. He told us that it is footage of a video game called War Thunder. 

“This video was originally made by me,” he said. “It is a combination between the videogame War Thunder and CGI made in a blender.”

He also shared the original video which was live-streamed on YouTube.

War Thunder is a multiplayer combat video game. You can watch other gameplays on their YouTube channel.

CONCLUSION

Media websites passed off video game footage as a real war bombing on Ukraine. 

Fact Crescendo has already debunked several video game footages that were passed off as real war visuals. You can read them here.

You can also read our fact-checks about the Russia-Ukraine war here.

If you come across any suspicious content on social media, forward it to our WhatsApp FactLine (9049053770) for a fact-check.