‘The moment the Moscow train was hit by a missile’ turned out to be an old Norwegian ship

Collage video shared on the network (left) and original video – Screenshot

While Russia and Ukraine made different statements and explanations about what happened to the cruiser Moscowsocial networks have spread a clip showing a warship being hit by a missile and on fire.

“The video recorded after the Moskva ship was hit by a Ukrainian missile” was widely shared on Twitter after a user posted it on April 14.

The footage was shot from the back of the ship and it looks like the cameraman was on another small ship due to the unstable frame. A rocket came from the right side of the frame, hitting the front of the ship causing a huge explosion, black smoke and flames engulfing the ship.

The image makes many people easily think of the consequences of an ammunition depot explosion on the Moskva ship as Russia explained.

However, according to the AP news agency, the clip does not involve the Moskva or any Russian warships in the Black Sea. The ship that was hit by the missile was actually an old Norwegian ship that was used as a target for shooting in 2013.

Those who released the video deliberately cut the video, keeping only the moment the missile hit the target.

In the original video, the cameraman approached the old ship to show off the rocket’s destructive power. If this section were kept, many would immediately recognize that it is not the Moskva due to the lack of missile launchers of this size mounted along the hull.

According to the AP, this clip was used again and again many years before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, but this time many people are still “trapped” by fake news.

On the evening of April 13 (Ukrainian time), rumors appeared on social media that Ukrainian forces had attacked the Russian cruiser Moskva and caused heavy damage on board.

At first, this claim raised suspicion because there had been similar untrue rumors before. By midnight, however, Several Russian media outlets, including state-owned RIA Novosti and TASS, simultaneously confirmed there was an explosion on board the cruiser Moskva.

On April 14, the Russian side announced that the battleship Moskva had sunk during the towing process to the port due to bad weather at sea. US intelligence later confirmed that the Russian warship was hit by a missile, as some Ukrainian officials claimed, but did not provide evidence.