A decade old video of US-Canada military exercise shared as Ukrainian and Russian soldiers playing tug of war

The decade old video shows the game of tug of war between American and Canadian soldiers. It was a part of a joint military exercise. It has no relation with Ukraine and Russia.

After Russia announced its military operation in Ukraine, videos and images of blasts, attacks and emotional content on soldiers leaving their families for the war populated on social media platforms. 

In this backdrop, a video showing the game of tug of war between the soldiers is being shared on social media platforms as Ukrainian soldiers playing tug of war with Russian soldiers.

The caption of the post reads, “One on One soldier Tug of War, Ukraine vs Russian.”

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Fact Check-

We started our investigation by carefully observing the video and running related keyword search on YouTube. We saw the National flags of America and Canada on the soldiers’ uniform.

We found that this video was posted on YouTube by a channel named 31 Canadian Brigade on 22 March 2012. The caption of the video reads, “One on one soldier Tug of War, Canada vs USA.”

According to the description of the video, it shows Master Corporal John Celestino of the Windsor Regiment (left), participating in a game of Tug of War with a US National Guard soldier (right). Captain Tristan Hatfield, 31 Canadian Brigade Group Public Affairs, shot this video.

“Prior to the departure of 31 Canadian Brigade Group (31 CBG) personnel from Camp Atterbury, Indiana, Canadian soldiers observed US National Guard soldiers playing an interesting version of the game Tug of War. 31 CBG soldiers were fascinated by the spectacle and cheered on the competitors. Finally, one young Canadian soldier dared to challenge the hometown crowd, and put national pride on the line. In this video, Master Corporal John Celestino of the Windsor Regiment (left), participates in a game of Tug of War with a US National Guard soldier (right). This version of the game builds esprit de corps and really works the leg muscles.”

You can read Windsor Star’s article on this video published in 2012 here.

Conclusion-

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video on social media to be False. The video does not show Russian and Ukrainian soldiers playing tug of war. The video is a decade old video of American and Canadian soldiers playing tug of war during a joint military exercise.

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