Fact Check: Thai missiles strike Cambodia? No, video shows Russian airstrikes on Ukraine
A video circulating on social media claims to show Cambodian military positions, including a Brigade HQ, destroyed by Thai airstrikes amid the ongoing border dispute.
By M Ramesh Naik
Claim:Cambodian military positions were destroyed, including the Brigade HQ, in airstrikes by the Royal Thai Air Force.
Fact:The claim is false. The video depicts Russian missile attacks on Lutsk, a city in western Ukraine, not Thai airstrikes on Cambodian targets.
Hyderabad: Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia escalated into intense border clashes this week, with Thai F-16 fighter jets reportedly bombing targets in Cambodia. The renewed violence, marked by shelling and airstrikes, has left at least 11 civilians and one soldier dead on the Thai side.
Both countries have blamed each other for the outbreak of fighting, which began early Thursday near the Ta Moan Thom Temple, a long-disputed area along the border in Cambodiaās Oddar Meanchey province.
Amid this, a video widely circulating on X shows massive explosions lighting up the sky over what appears to be a residential area, with loud blasts in the background. Several users are sharing the video, claiming it shows airstrikes by the Royal Thai Air Force that destroyed Cambodian military positions, including a Brigade HQ, amid the recent border clashes near the Ta Moan Thom Temple.
One X user posted the video and wrote, āThailand launches AIR STRIKES on Cambodia. At least two Cambodian military positions were destroyed including Brigade HQ in Airstrikes by Royal Thai Airforce.ā (Archive)
Similar posts can be seen here, here, and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2, Archive 3)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. The video does not show Thai airstrikes on Cambodian targets.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to a post by Al Jazeera Balkans on X, dated June 6. The post identified the footage as Russian missile attacks on the Ukrainian city of Lutsk, recorded during the early morning hours.
Further keyword searches led us to a YouTube video posted by Times News on June 6, titled āMoment Russian Missile Attack Hits Western Ukraine.ā The video description stated: āVideo posted on social media showed missiles hitting the city of Lutsk in western Ukraine on Friday (June 6).
Reuters was able to confirm the location of the video from the shape and position of buildings, which matched satellite imagery of the area.
The date was verified from a statement from the mayor Ihor Polishchuk who said that five people were injured when an attack on Friday (June 6) damaged private homes, educational institutions and a government building.
Russia launched an intense missile and drone barrage at the Ukrainian capital in the early hours of Friday and three people were killed, Ukrainian officials said, as powerful explosions reverberated across the country.ā
The architecture, layout of the buildings, and blast pattern seen in the viral footage also match urban Ukrainian settings, not the rural or jungle terrain of Cambodiaās Oddar Meanchey province, where the Thai-Cambodian border clash occurred.
Context of the conflict
According to an Al Jazeera report dated July 24, clashes erupted between Thai and Cambodian forces near the disputed Ta Moan Thom Temple, with both sides blaming each other.
Thailandās military stated that six F-16 fighter jets were deployed and struck two Cambodian military targets on the ground. Cambodian authorities, however, said Thai jets dropped two bombs on a road, without confirming any major military base being hit.
The viral video does not show Thai airstrikes in Cambodia. It actually shows Russian missile attacks on Lutsk, Ukraine, from early June 2025.
