FACT CHECK: Did Ukraine Destroy ‘Hundreds’ Of Tanks In Kharkiv?

A video shared on Facebook claims Ukraine destroyed “hundreds of T-80BV tanks” in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence to suggest Ukraine has destroyed “hundreds” of Russian tanks in Kharkiv.

Fact Check: 

The Russian military launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, according to CBS News. The war between the two nations has now raged for over 100 days.

A video shared on Facebook claims Ukraine has had some battlefield success. “Horrible Attack!! Ukrainian troops destroyed hundreds of T-80BV tank convoy in Kharkiv,” reads the title of the video, which shows various clips of Russian military vehicles being destroyed.

The six-minute video, however, does not show any proof that hundreds of Russian T-80BV tanks had been destroyed in Kharkiv. If this had occurred, credible media outlets would have covered it, yet none have. While there were media reports of the Ukrainians destroying a bridge in the Kharkiv region with a Russian convoy on it, Check Your fact could not find any evidence that “hundreds” of Russian tanks were destroyed in the region.

Two open-source intelligence groups that track the conflict in Ukraine — UA Weapons Tracker and OSINTtechnical — told Check Your Fact there has not been a convoy of hundreds of T-80 tanks destroyed in Kharkiv in one attack.

“Whilst large quantities of T-80 series tanks have been destroyed in Kharkiv Oblast and other areas, I am not sure that it would be accurate to say ‘hundreds,’ although over a hundred may be better,” UA Weapons Tracker said in an email statement to Check Your Fact.

“It doesn’t look like the Russians have lost that number of vehicles around Kharkiv,” OSINTtechnical said in a Twitter direct message. (RELATED: Is Ukraine Using German Howitzers To Fight Russia?)

Both accounts are linked to Oryx, an open-source military analysis website that tracks vehicle losses in Ukraine. Oryx claims to have visually confirmed the destruction, capture or abandonment of over 150 Russian T-80 tanks, of which there are several models, throughout the war.

The Ukrainian military claims to have destroyed over 1,600 tanks, according to The Kyiv Independent.

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