Fact Check: Putin’s visit to India - IAF escorts Russian President’s aircraft before landing? Here are the facts
A video has been circulating online, claiming it shows IAF fighter jets escorting Russian President Putin’s aircraft as it enters Indian airspace.
By - Md Mahfooz Alam
Claim:The video shows IAF fighter jets escorting Russian President Putin’s aircraft as it enters Indian airspace.
Fact:The claim is false. The video shows Putin’s unannounced visit to Syria, where Russian Su-35 jets escorted his aircraft in 2017.
Hyderabad: Russian President Vladimir Putin is in India for a two-day visit. He arrived on December 5 at Hyderabad House, New Delhi, for bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was received by President Droupadi Murmu and PM Modi at the venue. After that, he visited Rajghat in New Delhi to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi.
Meanwhile, a video of Putin’s aircraft in the air being escorted by fighter jets is circulating on social media, claiming it shows Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets escorting President Putin’s aircraft as it enters Indian airspace on his visit to the country.
Sharing the video, an X user wrote, “IAF fighter jets guiding President Putin’s aircraft as it enters Indian airspace. A moment that captures trust, respect, and a partnership built over decades. Long live the friendship between India and Russia. (sic)” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false, as the video is old and does not show IAF jets escorting Putin’s plane.
How old is the video?
A reverse image search of the video’s keyframes, with the combination of keyword searches, led us to the footage posted by multiple Facebook pages (links here and here) in December 2017.
The posts stated that the video shows Su-35 fighter jets escorting Putin, preparing to land at Khmeimim air base in western Syria for an unannounced visit.
Does the video show IAF jets escorting Putin?
The Facebook videos carried the logo of RT (Russia Today), a state-funded international news channel. Taking this lead, we again conducted a keyword search and found the video in a report published by the channel on December 11, 2017, titled, ‘Putin watches escorting Su-30 jets from presidential plane.’
The channel reported that Putin was set to land at the Khmeimim Air Base in western Syria for an unannounced visit—his first to the country—where he was escorted by Su-30 fighter jets. It noted that he even leaned toward the window, craning his neck to catch a better view of the jets flying alongside his plane. The base has been a central hub for Russia’s military operations in Syria.
Was Putin escorted by IAF jets in Indian airspace?
We ran a keyword search but found no reports. Therefore, NewsMeter cannot independently verify this claim.
However, we conclude that the viral video is from 2017 and does not show IAF escorting Russian President Putin. The claim is false.
