Four images have been shared hundreds of times on Facebook alongside a claim they show a Russian aircraft shot down by Ukrainian forces near the capital Kyiv. But these images were shared in a false context. Although Ukraine's armed forces announced it downed an enemy jet in the Vasilkiv area south of Kyiv, the images shared in the posts have circulated online years before Russia's invasion, including in reports about a 2015 airstrike in Yemen.

The images were published here on Facebook on March 8, 2022, and have since been shared more than 120 times.

The Burmese-language post translates as: "[Vladimir] Putin's gigantic four-engine Il-76 was carrying tanks, military equipment and soldiers when it was shot down by Ukrainian forces near the capital Kyiv. This is karma, Putin. May the Ukrainian civilian resistance be successful."

The post circulated online after the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced here on Facebook on February 26 that Ukrainian forces shot down Il-76 aircraft in the Vasilkiv area.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a military operation against Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

The crisis in Ukraine, in which Putin has sought to eradicate pro-Western leanings in the ex-Soviet state, has triggered the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II.

Identical images were also shared alongside a similar claim on Facebook here, here, here and here.

But combined reverse and keyword searches found the images predate...

Read Full Story: https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32647JL