After the Biden administration announced on January 25 that the US will equip Ukraine with 31 modernised M1 Abrams tanks, an image showing tanks being carried by railway in a snowy landscape is widely shared on social media, claiming that this is the visual from Poland. According to a Reuters report, top administration officials, who briefed reporters on the decision, claimed the Abrams tanks would take months to arrive in Ukraine.
The image is shared on Facebook with a caption: “BREAKING: Warmonger Biden said he’s sending tanks to the Ukrainians today. A train pulling tons of Abrams tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles was spotted in Poland. We have no fight in this war. Yet BIDEN continues to push aggression”
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim, and found it to be MISLEADING.
Doing a Reverse Image Search, we identified the verified YouTube channel of British news agency SWNS carrying a video similar to the viral image dated January 26, 2023, with a caption: “A freight train was seen carrying dozens of US tanks in Kansas the day before President Joe Biden announced they would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine.”
Google Streetview images of a crossroads at Kansas’ “Hwy 40 and 400th Avenue” confirms the clip’s location.
We also found the video posted on Twitter on January 24, 2023, with a caption: “Is that decision already made? This is Kansas today.” In another tweet, the same user said that it was filmed in “Gorham. Old 40”. Another tweet carried a video from a different angle, stating “It was in KS yesterday, before realising how long the train was I quit videoing, but quickly started the camera back-up. Here’s the end of the train… And the crack in my Toyota tundra windshield”.
The tanks in the video, according to Lt Col Garron J. Garn, a spokesperson for the Department of Defence, “are not linked to the Jan 25th statement by President Biden to commit M1 tanks to Ukraine,” but he could not identify when the video was taken.
Though we could not ascertain the exact time and location of the viral image, it is certain that it is not from Poland. Therefore, the viral claim is misleading.
If you want to fact-check any story, WhatsApp it now on +91 11 7127 979l9
Error: Contact form not found.
Click here for Latest News updates and viral videos n our AI-powered smart news