This footage of soldiers destroying Russian tank isn’t real

A video being shared on Facebook claims to show soldiers destroying a Russian tank in an ambush. 

“Soldiers destroyed Russian tank with NLAW in ambush,” the description of the video in the May 18 post says. 

NLAW stands for Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapon. Saab, which makes the weapon, says it “eliminates even the most advanced tanks.”

But this isn’t real footage of the war in Ukraine. 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

While some commenters on the Facebook post shared their well-wishes for Ukrainian soldiers with encouragement like, “Keep fighting until you win the war,” others looking at the post weren’t fooled. 

“EXCELENT(sic) GAME!!!,” one person said. 

If you actually watch the video, it is clear that it shows an animation.

The soldiers on top of the tank, and the tank rolling across a grassy field, have the glitchy movements of a simulation or video game. About three minutes into the recording, animated elements, such as the scenery, merge with one of the soldier’s arms in a way that defies reality.  

We’ve previously debunked other claims that video game footage shows fighting in Ukraine. 

This post is also False.