| schema:text
| - Fact Check: No, this is not a Ukrainian tank from the 2003 invasion of Iraq
Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, a photo of an armoured tank with the Ukrainian flag on its back went viral with the claim that it was from Ukraine's participation in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. India Today AFWA has found the image to be digitally altered.
Listen to Story
India Today Fact Check
The viral image has been altered digitally. The Ukrainian flag at the back of the armoured tank is missing in the original image. The original photo was taken during Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Ukraine was not part of military operations that expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1990.
Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, several people on social media shared a photo of an armoured tank with the Ukrainian flag on its back. The photo was shared with the claim that it was from Ukraine's participation in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In the photo, the tank could be seen standing in front of a mural of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.
One person shared the photo on Twitter and said, “In 2003, Ukraine invaded Iraq. The tank was sent by the Crusaders to Iraq Destroyed Today. Ukraine itself has been destroyed #RussiaUkraine.”
The India Today Anti-Fake News War Room (AFWA) has found the viral image was digitally altered. The Ukrainian flag is missing in the original image. The original photo was taken during Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
AFWA probe
With the help of reverse image search, we found the image published in an article in 2013 on a news portal.
In this image, there was no Ukrainian flag on the back of the armoured tank. The photo caption read, “Pictured: the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, which Iraq's new government is still paying the price for.”
We compared the two images and it became clear that the viral image was digitally altered.
The caption on the photo taken by Langevin Jacques said, “U.S. Troops in Kuwait During Persian Gulf War- American soldiers deployed in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War rest in front of a mural of Saddam Hussein. In August of 1990, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, causing a coalition of countries to deploy troops into the region to expel Iraq from Kuwait.”
The Iraq war of 1990-91
Following former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein’s decision to invade the small, oil-rich Kuwait, the United Nations Security Council promptly slapped multiple sanctions on Iraq and demanded the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Iraqi forces from Kuwait. The UNSC later authorised the use of force to expel Iraqi troops from the country.
In February 1991, US-led coalition forces liberated Kuwait from Iraqi forces. Ukraine was not part of this allied coalition force made up of 39 countries in 1990.
Iraq war of 2003
In March 2003, a combined force of troops from the United States and Great Britain with smaller contingents from several other countries, invaded Iraq vowing to destroy Iraqi weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and end the dictatorial rule of Saddam Hussein. It ended with the fall of the Iraqi army and the capture of Saddam Hussein from Tikrit in December 2003.
Although the US and Britain took the lead in attacking Iraq in 2003, several dozen nations contributed to this war against Iraq. Ukraine was also one among these countries.
Thus, we conclude that a digitally altered photo from the first Gulf War was shared with the claim that it was from the Ukrainian participation efforts in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
(With inputs from Yash Mittal)
READ: Fact Check: This picture of an emotional old man and his cat is not from war-torn Ukraine
ALSO READ: Fact Check: No, this video DOES NOT show protests in Moscow against ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine
Please share it on our at 73 7000 7000
You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)