Fact Check: Old video of Ukraine destroying Russia’s tank passed off as Hezbollah's attack on Israel

Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a video of a tank being destroyed is viral on social media. Users claim that Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group, destroyed the Israeli tank.

An X user shared the video and wrote, “Hezbollah destroyed an Israeli Tank that recently entered Lebanon.” (Archive)

“Hezbollah is preparing to dismantle Israeli Merkava tanks and sell them to a junk shop,” wrote another X user who shared the video. (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found the claim is false. The video depicts a Russian T-90 tank destroyed by Ukraine's anti-tank-guided missile in October 2023.

Upon conducting a reverse image search, we found the video published by several media outlets, including The Telegraph and Dail Mail, in October 2023. According to both organizations, the video shows the moment a Ukrainian Anti-Tank Guided Missile hits a Russian T-90 tank near Makiivka, Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine.

We also found the video posted by the official X handle of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on October 8, 2023, captioned, “Russian «no-analogue» T-90M. Oops.”

According to a report by the Kyiv Post published on October 9, 2023, a Russian T-90 tank was seen launching grenades toward Ukrainian positions, likely as a defensive measure. However, it was struck on the side and destroyed by a Ukrainian anti-tank missile. The report also highlighted that Kremlin forces have confirmed the loss of 45 T-90 tanks and 2,362 tanks of various types since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Another outlet, Defence Express, also reported on the viral video, confirming that Ukraine's anti-tank missile took down the Russian T-90 tank.

Hence, we conclude that the video does not show Hezbollah destroying an Israeli tank in Lebanon. The claim is false.