A mere animated video is falsely shared as a Russian Kinzhal missile in Ukraine
Claim
A Russian Kinzhal missile, traveling at 12,000 kilometers per hour, 10 times faster than sound, was used today to destroy a Ukrainian weapons depot 136 meters underground. (Look at the astonishment of the American reporter when he suddenly saw this)
Rating
Explanation
A 17-second video clip is shared as a Russian Kinzhal missile, traveling at 12,000 kilometers per hour, 10 times faster than sound which was used to destroy a Ukrainian weapons depot 136 meters underground. Some of the posts with such a claim can be seen here and here.
A Russian Kinzhal missile, traveling at 12,000 kilometers per hour, 10 times faster than sound, was used today to destroy a Ukrainian weapons depot 136 meters underground. (Look at the astonishment of the American reporter when he suddenly saw this) pic.twitter.com/hANjOVyED0
— Bhupy (@singhbhupy7) March 19, 2023
What is the truth?
When reverse-searching the keyframes of the viral video it is found that the video is not real but an animated video.
The viral video is found uploaded on the ‘InsanePatient2’ Youtube channel on 28, February 2022 with the title “What if Russia started Nuclear War?”. The viral video part is found at the 0:13 second timestamp of the video. The description part reads “VFX Artist, Video Editor” revealing that the video clip is not real.
This Youtube channel is filled with multiple visually animated videos. Some of the other videos with the same background are also found uploaded on the same channel. The videos can be viewed here and here.
When searching for the details about the Kinzhal missile, we found that it is one of the latest and most advanced Russian weapons. The AP News dated 10, March 2023 reported that the Russian military says the air-launched ballistic missile has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept. The article further states that Russia has used the Kinzhal to strike targets in Ukraine starting from the early days of the invasion.
Al Jazeera reported on 19, March 2022 that Russia used its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine to destroy a weapons storage site in the country’s west. “The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region,” said defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
Conclusion
It is found that the viral video is not of Russia’s Kinzhal missile but merely a visual animation. And it is to be noted that Russia said that it has used Kinzhal missile in Ukraine.
