The claim

On February 26, 2023, Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group are said to have destroyed the first of the Leopard tanks that Germany is supplying to the war party in Ukraine.

Our conclusion

The picture is from 2018 and shows a destroyed Turkish Leopard-2A4 in the Syrian civil war. So it is a hybrid fake.

Pro-Russian accounts on Twitter celebrate the destruction of the first German Leopard tank in Ukraine. There's just one catch: the story behind the picture isn't true.

___STEADY_PAYWALL___

The destroyed Turkish Leopard tank

The origin of the image is a Twitter account that has since been deleted: Rojava Defense Units | YPG (Official Twitter account for the People's Defense Units (YPG) in Rojava – Democratic Federation of Northern Syria). On February 3, 2018, a video was uploaded there that was supposed to show the destruction of a tank in the Bulbul community (Afrin district, Syria), right on the Turkish border. The Arabic-language portal Elbalad News shows some pictures of the destroyed military vehicle, including the picture above.

The video shows the moment an anti-tank guided missile was fired at the Turkish tank, causing it to detonate. A woman's voice can be heard, possibly from the Kurdish forces. Russian agency Sputik said the type of missile fired at the tank was not specified and the tank was a German-made Leopard type, according to the Lebanese sources website.

It is noteworthy that the Turkish General Staff had previously announced that a tank belonging to it was blown up during "Operation Olive Branch" against Kurdish forces in Afrin, Syria, which began on January 2, killing five of its soldiers.

Elbalad News about the destruction of the Leopard tank
Collage leopard tanks
Collage of images of the destroyed tank. Source: tert.am

The Russian site topwar.ru identifies the type of tank as the Leopard-2A4. Turkey acquired this series from Bundeswehr stocks .

Conclusion: No, this is not a tank destroyed in Ukraine that was recently delivered by Germany. The picture really shows a leopard, but the photo was taken in 2018 during the Syrian civil war. Kurdish militias destroyed this tank belonging to the Turkish armed forces in the Afrin district, near the border. So it is a hybrid fake.

Rating: FALSE

Sources: Elbalad News , esut.de , tert.am , topwar.ru

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