FACT CHECK: Image Showing The Aftermath of a Missile Strike Is From Beirut, Not Ukraine

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook claims to show Ukrainian security services headquarters hit by Russia.

Verdict: False

The image is from Beirut, not Ukraine. The image was taken in 2022 after a fire.

Fact Check:

A Russian missile attack injured 18 people in Dnipro on April 3, according to Reuters. Russia has expanded its missile strikes on Ukraine and has hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure, the outlet reported.

Social media users are claiming that a Russian missile attack hit the headquarters of the SBU and sharing an image saying it shows the impact of said missile attack.

“Breaking news: What hit the security headquarters of the SBU in Kiev?! All the important officers were inside‼️ Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, was hit by Russian cruise and hypersonic missiles on Monday morning,” one user wrote.

The image, though, is not from Ukraine. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the image is from Beirut. The image was shared in a 2022 Voice of America article about a fire in Beirut that affected damaged silos in August 2020 when an explosion rocked the city.

“This image from a video shows smoke and dust rising from collapsing silos damaged during the August 2020 massive explosion in the port, in Beirut, Lebanon, Aug. 23, 2022,” reads the image description.

It is true that Russia targeted the SBU. The Kyiv Post reported that two Russian ballistic missiles targeted SBU offices but were shot down by Ukrainian air defense systems. Ukrainian officials said that missile debris from the shot-down munitions injured 10 people, according to Reuters.

Full Fact also debunked this claim. (RELATED: Facebook Post Falsely Claims Navy JAG Has Started Garland’s Military Tribunal, Accuses Him Of ‘Treason’)

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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