A TikTok clip showing a paratrooper recording himself while jumping has gained recent attention on social media; some online have interpreted the scene depicted a Russian soldier landing in Ukraine in February 2022. The footage, however, traces back to at least 2015.
The 19-second-long clip first shows two paratroopers in the sky; the camera then appears to change to “selfie” mode and shows a paratrooper laughing to the camera and speaking in Russian. It was posted on TikTok by user @RomanAdler123 on Feb. 24 (here).
According to an archived version of the link (here) the video gained at least 1.3 million likes on the platform and was shared over 136,900 times.
The same clip can be found in an Instagram post from Aug. 25, 2015 (here). It was posted by an Instagram user with the same handle (@RomanAdler123).
Some social media users sharing the clip appear to interpret the scene as recent.
“The fact that TikTok used to be a dancing app and now you can watch Russia’s invasion of #Ukraine from the POV of its paratroopers is absolutely mind boggling,” one Twitter user wrote (here).
“Bro f*****g Russian paratrooper filming there (sic) TikTok while dropping in Ukraine,” a second one commented (here).
“These are RUSSIANS paratroopers invading UKRAINE,” a third one wrote (here).
Other iterations can be found (here) (here) (here) (here) (here).
The video has also since been posted on YouTube with the inaccurate description (here).
For the latest Reuters coverage on the developing situation in Ukraine (www.reuters.com/places/ukraine).
VERDICT
Misleading. Selfie video of paratroopers was not filmed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022; the same clip was posted on Instagram in 2015.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here .
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.