Home Video game footage shared as 'Ukrainian planes attacking the Crimean Bridge'

Video game footage shared as 'Ukrainian planes attacking the Crimean Bridge'

By: Soham Shah

August 16 2024

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Video game footage shared as 'Ukrainian planes attacking the Crimean Bridge' TikTok post claiming that footage shows Ukrainian jets attacking the Crimean Bridge. (Source:TikTok/Modified by Logically Facts)

Fact-Check

The Verdict False

The video shows footage from the game Arma 3 and not a Ukrainian fighter jet attack on the Crimean Bridge.

What is the claim?

A video is being shared on TikTok with the claim that it shows a recent Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Bridge that connects Crimea to Russia.

The video shows multiple explosions on a bridge-like structure with fighter jets hovering around the area, deploying flares while being counter-attacked by anti-aircraft guns. The caption of the post published on August 11, 2024, read, "Part 2 - 1 minute ago, a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet dropped an 8 ton bomb on the Crimean bridge." The post was liked over 4000 times and reshared 720 times. An archived version is here

The TikTok post falsely claims that the footage shows Ukrainian jets attacking the bridge. (Source: TikTok/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, this footage is from a video game and does not show an actual attack on the bridge.

What is the truth?

Using a relevant Google search, we found an extended version of the video posted on YouTube (archived here) by the channel "LRR battle" on August 7, 2024, and titled "1 minute ago, a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet dropped an 8 ton bomb on the Crimean bridge." The viral video can be found at timestamp 6:47 and continues for over six minutes.

A comparison between screenshots of the viral video and the YouTube video confirms they are the same. (Source: Screenshots/TikTok/YouTube/Modified by Logically Facts)

The description of this video reads, "DISCLAIMER: Not original footage, all videos on this channel are simulations of the Arma 3 game! They do not reflect reality and are a product of the author's imagination! This channel is not for propaganda purposes! The authors of this channel wholeheartedly oppose the war and only provide estimates of actual events from actual news."

Hundreds of similar war simulation videos have been uploaded to YouTube, confirming this further.

We also found that the channel's bio identifies itself as "Realistic ingame War Simulation about Ukraine War! Arma 3 Military Simulation," besides also mentioning that the "channel was created using content from Bohemia Interactive a.s.," a Czech video game developer and publisher based in Prague, and the copyright remains with it. Bohemia Interactive is known for developing and publishing the popular Arma series games, including Arma 3, an open-world tactical shooter simulation video game.  

We also found no credible news reports of any recent attack on the Crimean bridge, such as the one shown in the video. 

Attack on Crimean Bridge

While there were reports in April 2024 that Ukraine was "plotting a third attempt on the (Crimean) bridge, after two previous attempts to blow it up," no such developments in connection with the bridge have taken place since then in 2024.

Earlier in 2023, the Ukrainian Navy attacked the Crimean Bridge with two drones, damaging a part of the road bridge. In 2022, a fire broke out after a bomb loaded onto a truck on the road bridge exploded. It was later confirmed as a Ukrainian attack. 

Logically Facts has debunked multiple false claims where Arma 3 footage is being used to spread misinformation/disinformation about the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war.

The verdict

This claim is false as the video shows a simulation from the video game Arma 3 and does not show an actual attack on the bridge.  

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