Fact check: Video of soldiers dancing predates Russian invasion of Ukraine – USA TODAY
The claim: A video shows Russians and Ukrainians dancing together
More than a week after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, the two countries continue to fight. But a viral video suggests not all Russians and Ukrainians are at odds.
A Feb. 24 Facebook video shows several uniformed individuals dancing to upbeat music in a muddy field. A nearby crowd of clapping soldiers stand on honking armored vehicles.
“There’ll be laughing, singing and music swinging… Dancing in the street,” the video’s caption reads. “Russian and Ukrainians compete in a dance war.”
In a Feb. 24 Telegram post, one user claimed the video is evidence of “Russian forces taking out Deepstate/cabal,” apparently referring to Ukraine. It received more than 163,000 views within eight days. Other duplicates of the video have circulated on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.
But social media users are misinterpreting the video, as independent fact-checking organizations have reported.
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The video was first shared at least a week before Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Crimean news reports indicate the dancing took place after a planned tactical exercise in the long-contested peninsula. USA TODAY found no evidence the soldiers are members of the Ukrainian military.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the video for comment.
Video posted before Russian invasion
Nearly a week before Russia invaded Ukraine, two Crimean news outlets reported that the dancing pictured in the video was a break from “planned tactical exercises” in Crimea, according to a Google translation.
During those exercises, “representatives of different nationalities” gathered to train to destroy “helicopters, armored vehicles, ground targets and manpower of a mock enemy,” according to a Google translation of the news reports, translated via Google.
The earliest instance of the video USA TODAY could find online was posted Feb. 18 on Instagram.
“This is how all peoples in Russia should live together, and the enemy is not terrible,” the post’s caption reads, according to a Google translation.
The dancing took place in Bakhchisarai, a town in central Crimea, according to the caption and news reports. USA TODAY could not independently verify the location of the clip.
Fact check roundup: What’s true and what’s false about the Russian invasion of Ukraine
USA TODAY found no evidence the soldiers are members of the Ukrainian military. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Our rating: Missing context
Based on our research, we rate MISSING CONTEXT the claim that a video shows Russians and Ukrainians dancing together, because without additional information it may be misleading.
The video was first shared at least a week before Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Crimean news reports indicate the dancing took place after a planned tactical exercise in the peninsula. USA TODAY found no evidence the soldiers are members of the Ukrainian military.
Our fact-check sources:
- USA TODAY, Feb. 24, Biden details new Russian sanctions as death toll climbs in Ukraine
- crimean-news.com, Feb. 18, Снимали стресс: в Крыму после учений военные зажигательно станцевали лезгинку
- crimea.kp.ru, Feb. 18, Снимали стресс: в Крыму после учений военные зажигательно станцевали лезгинку
- Google Translate, conducted March 4, Translation
- @chp.crimea, Feb. 18, Instagram
- Google Translate, conducted March 3, Translation
- CNBC, Jan. 27, How Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014. And how the markets tanked
- Lead Stories, Feb. 25, Fact Check: Video Of Soldiers Dancing Predates February 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
- Reuters, March 2, Fact Check-Video of soldiers dancing predates Russian invasion; Ukraine’s conflict is not a ‘cover-up’ for fighting the ‘deep state’
- USA TODAY, March 4, Russian advance on Kyiv stalls; nuclear power plant fire draws international scorn: Live updates
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