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Fake footage of alleged explosions in Kyiv sparks panic on the Internet

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, with explosions heard across the country soon after

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a military operation in Ukraine in an attempt to defend separatists in the east of the country. "I have made the decision of a military operation to protect the people of the Donbas separatist region," he said in a television statement. The President urged Ukrainian soldiers to lay their arms down and head home.

Putin announced the military operation in Ukraine on Thursday, February 24, with explosions heard across the country soon after. Ukraine's ambassador at the United Nations has told the Security Council that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “declared war on Ukraine".

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Soon after the announcement, explosions were heard in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, as well as across other cities. There were reportedly air raid sirens in the center of Kyiv. Although the severity of Thursday's attacks was not immediately clear, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the worst-case scenario has unfolded. 

Amid the already tense situation, a video of an explosion is being shared widely on social media with a false claim, causing panic. The video shows a massive explosion and people are sharing it, claiming that the explosion took place in Ukraine. "#Ukraine explosion fires started by Russian airstrike set off chain reaction at Luhansk power plant Ukrainian," a user wrote, sharing the video. "NEW FOOTAGE FROM KYIV OF RUSSIA MASSIVE BOMBING UKRAINE," another user wrote, sharing the same video. One user wrote, "We are very concerned for Ukraine. The sad thing is that whenever innocent people of a peaceful country are killed in war what is their fault, then it seems that human life has no value."

The truth is that the video being widely shared is that of an old explosion in the Chinese city of Tianjin. The video was posted by BBC News on YouTube in August 2015, with the caption, "Footage of two massive explosions in the Chinese city of Tianjin, taken by a stunned eyewitness, captured the fear and terror of those who saw what happened. Dozens of people died and hundreds were injured when a warehouse owned by a company specialising in handling hazardous goods caught fire and exploded. City officials say they still did not know what materials were at the warehouse at the time of the fire, or what caused the blasts. Eyewitness Dan van Duren filmed the moment of the explosions, before he and others fled to avoid the danger." The Guardian also reported on the incident back in August 2015. 

Meanwhile, Putin's move came after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to Russians not to support a "major war in Europe". He also said that people of Russia were being lied to about Ukraine, adding that when he tried to contact Putin, there was "no answer, only silence". He confirmed on Wednesday, February 23, that Moscow had around 200,000 soldiers near Ukrainian borders.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the US, said that a Russian invasion will have the power to displace as many as five million people, which could lead to a new European refugee crisis. Ukraine urged all its citizens living in Russia to leave before Putin's announcement came. "We are united in believing that the future of European security is being decided right now, here in our home, in Ukraine," President Zelenskyy said during a joint media appearance with the visiting leaders of Poland and Lithuania. While Ukraine has around 2,00,000 military personnel, Moscow's total forces are much larger.