CLAIM
A circulating image is claimed by its publishers to be a Ukrainian tank that participated in the invasion of Iraq in 2004. Other publishers claim it was in 2003.
VERDICT
A probe verified the rolling claim and found it to be false, as the image was fabricated and manipulated by adding Ukraine’s flag and coat of arm to the tank.
The original photograph was published in 2013, as taken during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
FULL TEXT
The text accompanying the image reads as follows:
“What goes around come around.
“This photo is from 2004 in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. In this photo, a Ukranian tank be seen gnashing its teeth in the central Baghdad.
“Ukraine, despite not being a NATO member, sent 5,000 troops in support of NATO.
“If you have ever been involved in an abuse with someone, you or your offsprings may at some point face the same abuse.”
VERIFICATION
A Facebook page called “Makhmour News” posted the photo on February 24, 2022, with an allegation that it showed the moment Ukrainian troops entered Baghdad, referring to their participation in the U.S. war on Iraq.
The photo gained widespread support after many pages and accounts contributed to its publication.
PRNigeria conducted a reverse search to investigate the image that allegedly showed “a tank painted with the Ukrainian flag on it during the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq,” which turned out to be a fabricated image.
The research led to a matching image published earlier in which the Ukrainian flag did not appear on the edge of the tank in a story about financial compensation received by Kuwait for the Iraqi invasion in 1990.
The image which first appeared in 2013 is associated with this story: “A totally green economy otherwise? Kuwait to receive $744 million in compensation for environmental damage caused by 1990 Iraqi invasion | Al Bawaba”.
By continuing to search for the image, we found similar images showing the same landmarks, and a picture of Saddam Hussein, which was published by a distribution site Getty Images.
It depicts US soldiers and armored vehicles standing next to Saddam Hussein’s statue during the war aimed at removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The image, according to Getty Images, belongs to an American tank, the M1/A1 Abraham.
The US-led Allied forces launched a military operation to drive out Iraqi forces that occupied Kuwait in 1990. That alliance included 39 countries, but Ukraine was not involved, but it was one of the countries sent as a peacekeeping mission to Iraq in 2003.
CONCLUSION
PRNigeria, therefore, concludes that the image, which allegedly shows “the moment Ukrainian troops entered Iraq during the U.S. invasion,” is fabricated. The image was digitally modified by adding the Ukrainian flag and coat of arm to the tank.
