A video shared by a Hungarian TV station purports to show Ukrainians in a packed pub celebrating the recent attack on the Kerch bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea. But did that really happen?
A bridge linking Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea was attacked a second time in less than a year, last Monday.
Two people were killed and their daughter was injured, according to Russian news.
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered increased security at the Kerch Bridge – the longest in Europe – and also promised: “There will be a response from Russia.”
But a Hungarian news channel broadcast a report claiming Ukrainians were seen rejoicing over the attack while dancing and singing in a bar.
By doing a reverse image search, The Cube found the original video and it has nothing to do with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It was first posted on Facebook back in 2016. The people in the video are none other than passionate football fans during the 2016 Euro Football Cup held in France.
According to the original video, the scene is set in a bar in Northern Ireland.
They were showing support for the football player Will Grigg, part of the Northern Ireland team.
Although he remained on the bench for the whole tournament, Grigg became the darling of the team’s fans who honoured him by chanting “Will Grigg’s on fire, your defense is terrified” to the famous tune “Freed from Desire” by the Italian singer Gala.
The anthem stuck and gained lots of international media coverage.
The Hungarian news report was not only criticised by numerous media outlets in the country but also in the rest of Europe.
Daniel Freund, a Green Member of the European Parliament called the broadcast ‘a disgrace’ on Twitter.
But it’s not the first time that this video has been associated with the war in Ukraine.
Certain pro-Ukranian social media accounts have already used this video after the first attack on the Kerch Bridge back in October 2022.
Many of these accounts suggest that it sounds like the supporters in the video are singing “Kerch Bridge on fire” instead of the original chant.