This video does not show British Prime Minister Boris Johnson flying a jet to visit Ukraine

 

Screenshot of the Facebook post. 

(*Click to view larger image)

 

The Claim and Our Verdict 

The claim: A video circulating on Facebook claims to show British Prime Minister Boris Johnson flying a jet to visit Ukraine. 

Fact-checking: The video actually shows Johnson flying in the Typhoon fighter jet at Royal Air Force Coningsby in Lincolnshire, England, on July 14, 2022. Johnson’s latest visit to Ukraine took place June 17, 2022. No evidence can be found from the official U.K. government website that Johnson has visited Ukraine around July 14, 2022.  

Our verdict: This video does not show British Prime Minister Boris Johnson flying a jet to Ukraine. Instead, it shows him flying in a fighter jet at a Royal Air Force Station. 

News Brief 

A video shared July 19, 2022, on Facebook, appears to show British Prime Minister Boris Johnson flying in a fighter jet. The caption, written in traditional Chinese, translates as, “Guess what? It’s the British version of Maverick flying to Ukraine with a full tank of fuel.” Maverick refers to Peter Mitchell, the pilot played by Tom Cruise in the movie Top Gun, with “Maverick” as his nickname. The post refers to Johnson’s role as a “pilot,” flying a jet to Ukraine and making a visit.  

As of the publication of this report, the Facebook post had been shared 15 times, and it had received 12 comments as well as 23 likes or reactions. 

Fact-checking 

After searching with keywords, a YouTube video released July 18, 2022 by the Prime Minister’s office has been found. It is titled “Boris Johnson’s POV as he flies in a Typhoon fighter jet.” The Facebook video has been captured from the first 22 seconds of this YouTube video. 

Screenshot of the YouTube video released by the Prime Minister’s office.

(*Click to view larger image)

 

According to the description of the YouTube video, it shows Johnson flying in a Typhoon fighter jet taking off from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. 

Johnson mentioned the flight in his July 18 speech. The transcript of the July 18 speech delivered at the Farnborough Air Show can be found on the U.K. government website. In his remarks, he said that he had taken a ride in the Typhoon fighter jet taking off from Royal Air Force (RAF) Coningsby on July 14, accompanied by RAF wing commander Paul Hanson. The Guardian and Daily Mail have reported Johnson’s flight at Coningsby. Neither Johnson’s speech nor the media reports have mentioned that he flied in the jet to Ukraine. 

According to the media reports and the tweet published by Johnson, the Prime Minister’s most recent visit to Ukraine was on June 17, 2022. After searching the latest updates from the Prime Minister’s office, Johnson has not visited Ukraine around July 14, 2022.