FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show Ukrainian Farmland Set On Fire By Russia In 2022?

A video shared on Facebook purportedly shows Ukrainian farmers attempting to harvest their crops amid the current conflict. 

Verdict: Misleading

While some reports indicate Ukrainian farms are suffering from the war, the video shared on Facebook is from 2014, not 2022.

Fact Check: 

About 1,500 acres of wheat and rapeseed were destroyed in Ukraine by Russian airstrikes last week, according to Bloomberg. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has intensified a global food crisis as Russia continues to blockade Ukrainian ports, preventing the exportation of grain, The Guardian reported.

The Facebook video, viewed over 5,600 times, appears to show a Ukrainian combine harvester attempting to harvest crops as part of the field burns in the background. “Harvesting in Ukraine 2022,” reads the video’s title. “This is how the harvesting amid Russia’s invasion in Ukraine is taking place,” reads the post’s caption. (RELATED: Does This Image Show A Ukrainian Farmer Towing A Rocket?)

The footage predates the current invasion of Ukraine, however. A longer version of it appeared on YouTube in 2014 with a Russian-language title that translates to, “Fire in the field. Save the harvest.” The description does not provide any further context or details about what the video depicts. 

Although the Facebook video is miscaptioned, numerous Ukrainian farms have been damaged and burned during the course of the war, according to CNN. In some instances, Ukrainian farmers are rushing to harvest crops near the frontlines of the conflict, Reuters reported.

This is not the first time misinformation regarding Ukrainian farmers has spread online. Check Your Fact previously debunked a viral image from March 2022 that claimed to show a Ukrainian farmer towing a captured Russian jet.

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