Photos claiming to show explosions in Ukraine are actually from Gaza

24 February 2022
What was claimed

Three photographs show explosions in Ukraine.

Our verdict

One of the photographs is of an explosion in Ukraine. The other two show Gaza.

A post shared over 1,000 times on Facebook features three images of explosions, with a caption describing the current invasion of Ukraine and stating: “Explosions have been heard in Ukraine after Russia launched a full-scale invasion this morning.”

Russian forces entered two rebel held areas in eastern Ukraine on 22 February, before an invasion of Ukraine was announced by Russian president Vladimir Putin on 24 February.

However, only one of the three pictures actually features an image of Ukraine, showing an explosion in the capital Kyiv.

The other two photographs are pictures from Gaza. One picture shows an explosion following an Israeli airstrike on 10 May 2021, while the second picture is from an airstrike on 9 August 2018.

Photo by Dmitry A. Mottl via Wikimedia Commons

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