This video does not show NATO joining Ukraine in war against Russia

Hyderabad: A video showing soldiers, vehicles, helicopters, an aircraft on a runway, and a massive crowd is doing the rounds on social media. Social media users sharing the video claim that North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) soldiers are joining Ukraine to fight Russian forces.

A Twitter user shared the video with the caption, “In case you missed it, NATO soldiers now in Ukraine.” The video also has texts that read “Startin it like a dream” and “Nato soldiers now in Ukraine.”

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the video is from 2021 and shows US soldiers withdrawing from Afghanistan.

On performing a reverse image search of the video’s keyframes, we found it published by a verified YouTube channel, FUNKER530 - Veteran Community & Combat Footage, on 18 August 2021. It is titled “US Soldier Films Chaos From MRAP Gunner Turret In Kabul.”

According to the description, the video shows the evacuation of US and partner nation personnel from the Hamid Karzai International Airport (HKIA) in Afghanistan. It was filmed by an actual service member who took part in the evacuation security operations.

We also found stills from the video in a report published by the website Task & Purpose on 20 August 2021. It also said the video shows chaos at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. It showed hundreds of Afghans lining up at the airport runway before two Apache helicopters flew low to clear the runway for the take-off of an Air Force cargo plane.

Ukraine has applied for NATO membership, but there is disagreement among member countries on the issue of security. They are concerned about letting the country in at a time when a war might drag the organisation into a wider conflict.

Hence, we conclude that the video shows US troops evacuating Afghanistan in 2021, and the claim of NATO joining Ukraine to fight Russia is false.