A video posted on Twitter exhibits Finland shifting a lengthy line of tanks to the Russian border.
Fact Check
A video that was posted to Twitter on May 3, 2022, purported to present Finland shifting tanks to its border with Russia, and acquired tens of hundreds of views. But it’s deceptive.
“Finland transfers equipment to the border with Russia,” the caption on the video reads. It exhibits a lengthy line of tanks being transported on a practice.
The deceptive tweet performs on geopolitical rigidity between Russia and Finland, the latter of which has been weighing NATO membership. Russia threatened to deploy a part of its nuclear arsenal to the Baltic area, nearer to Europe, if the Scandinavian nation did be a part of the U.S.-led navy alliance — brinksmanship that has characterised Russia’s navy exercise in Europe since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In response to the video and its claims, the Finnish authorities launched a assertion saying that the video does present Finnish tanks being transported by practice, however not to the Russian border.
The tanks have been being moved for navy workout routines in Niinisalo and Säkylä, a village and metropolis, respectively, which are in Finland’s west. Finland’s border with Russia is in the nation’s east.
According to the assertion posted by the Finnish navy, the train generally known as Arrow 22 is happening in late April and early May 2022 and is an annual incidence open to worldwide participation, with this yr’s taking part navy forces hailing from the U.Ok., Latvia, the U.S., and Estonia. More than 3,000 Finnish troopers took half.
Despite the incontrovertible fact that the video is deceptive, a May 4, 2022, Wall Street Journal article described the train ominously as being “shadowed by growing fears that Russia’s war in Ukraine could spread to other parts of Europe.”
Sources:
“Army Mechanised Exercise Arrow 22 to Be Arranged at Niinisalo.” Maavoimat, 14, April 2022, https://maavoimat.fi/en/-/army-mechanised-exercise-arrow-22-to-be-arranged-at-niinisalo.
Engel Rasmussen, Sune. “Finland Holds War Drill Alongside U.S. Soldiers Ahead of NATO Application.” Wall Street Journal, 4 May 2022. www.wsj.com, https://www.wsj.com/articles/finland-holds-war-drill-alongside-u-s-soldiers-ahead-of-nato-application-11651678865.