A video circulating on social media shows a black car exploding on a road, claiming that it’s an Electric Vehicle (EV) blast in Uttar Pradesh, India.
An Instagram post (archived here) shared the viral video, with a caption: “EV car blast in Uttar Pradesh (sic).” The video itself has overlaid text that reads, “Breaking News: EV car blast in Uttar Pradesh.”
Similar claims can be seen here and here. (Archive link)
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the claim, and found it to be false.
Performing a Reverse Image Search of the viral video keyframes, the NM team found the video uploaded by several media outlets, including Crimea News, Antikor, and Ria Novosti, dated November 19, 2024. According to these reports, it was the footage of a car bomb explosion that killed the commander of the 41st Missile Brigade of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet.
A Reuters report, dated November 19, 2024, also stated that the Russian authorities had arrested two suspects believed to be behind the assassination of the senior naval officer. The report identified the victim as Valery Trankovsky, Chief of Staff of the 41st Missile Brigade. He was in the car that exploded in the city of Sevastopol, Crimea.
Furthermore, the same video was found on the YouTube channel of Mail News uploaded on December 17, 2024, with the headline: “Russian Naval Officer Valery Trankovsky Killed in Car Bomb Assassination.” The video description noted, “Moment Russian Naval Officer Valery Trankovsky is killed in a car bomb assassination in Crimea. Ukraine has claimed the Chief of Staff of the 41st Missile Brigade of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet ordered hits on civilian targets.”
Thus, the viral video showing the car explosion is from Crimea, not an EV blast in India’s Uttar Pradesh.
