Fact check: Old video shows American, Canadian soldiers in friendly tug-of-war battle

Ella Lee, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: A video shows Ukrainian and Russian soldiers playing tug-of-war

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, some on social media are convinced soldiers from the two nations aren't totally at odds.

A video shared to Facebook shows a number of individuals in military garb circling two soldiers bound together by harnesses. After a countdown, the two attempt to run in opposite directions, pulling against each other in a game of tug-of-war as onlookers cheer.

"One on One soldier Tug of War, Ukraine vs Russian," reads the caption of the March 9 video, which generated more than 3.6 million views and 62,000 reactions in two days.

Duplicates of the video received thousands more views. However, the clip is being taken out of context to support a false claim.

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The video does show soldiers playing tug-of-war, but they are not from the Ukrainian and Russian militaries. Canadian and American service members faced off in tug-of-war after a 2012 joint training session in Indiana.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook users who shared the claim for comment.

Video shows Canadian, American troops in 2012

The first version of the video USA TODAY could find online was shared to YouTube a decade ago by the 31 Canadian Brigade Group, part of the Canadian Army.

The video's description indicates the clip was filmed at Camp Atterbury in Indiana. Canadian soldiers observed U.S. National Guard members playing an "interesting version" of tug-of-war and decided to join in.

"31 (Canadian Brigade Group) soldiers were fascinated by the spectacle and cheered on the competitors," reads the March 2012 video's description. "Finally, one young Canadian soldier dared to challenge the hometown crowd, and put national pride on the line. In this video, Master Corporal John Celestino of the Windsor Regiment, left, participates in a game of Tug of War with a US National Guard soldier, right."

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The friendly contest took place at the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, where Canadian and American soldiers met for Exercise Arrowhead Lightning, according to the video's description. A March 2012 press release from the National Guard confirms the description.

Insider covered the tug-of-war face-off in a March 2012 article. Military.com put the video on its website two years later.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that a video shows Ukrainian and Russian soldiers playing tug-of-war. The video shows Canadian and American service members facing off in tug-of-war after a 2012 joint training session in Indiana.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Tug-of-war clip from 2012, not Russian invasion of Ukraine