A video claiming to show the destruction of 40 Russian strategic bombers has begun circulating on social media. The footage depicts several aircraft being struck from the air.
While a Ukrainian attack on Russian military airfields did take place, Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported on June 1 that FPV drone launches in Murmansk and Irkutsk regions caused fires affecting several pieces of aviation equipment. There was no mention of 40 bombers being destroyed.
Moreover, the published video appears to be computer-generated. It is likely a screen recording from the tactical military video game ARMA 3, as suggested by the blurry visuals and animated buildings and trees. There is no official confirmation that Ukraine’s armed forces destroyed such a large number of Russian aircraft during the June 1 attack.
The TikTok account that originally posted the video has previously shared clips from video games, falsely presenting them as real footage of attacks on Russian military targets. On June 1 alone — the day of Ukraine’s large-scale strike on Russian airfields — the account posted nine videos made from game footage, which then spread across social media. One clip amassed around six million views on the original platform.
Notably, Kyiv has previously passed off ARMA 3 gameplay as real combat footage. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense once released a video allegedly showing its air defense systems shooting down four Russian helicopters in the Kherson region at night — a clip later identified as coming from the same video game.
Claims about the destruction of 40 Russian bombers and the fake footage have not been picked up by Russian state media.
