No, Ukrainians aren’t selling captured Russian tanks on eBay
Reports of Ukrainians selling captured Russian tanks on eBay has been proved to be false.
Recently an image started circulating of an eBay listing supposedly for a used Russian tank that had been seized by people in Ukraine.
The post was reportedly taken down by eBay but it has been followed by a number of users posting listings for a ‘Russian tank T72’ but as you flip through the photos, the seller admits that they’re just selling a toy.
‘This is not a real tank but a toy as in the following photos. Part of the proceeds from the sale will go to a charity organisation. Help for refugees from Ukraine.’
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So far the post has received over 30 bids and currently stands at £7,500. This doesn’t appear to be a genuine eBay listing, with bids coming from the same few accounts.
Fact checking website Snopes debunked the original post and found that the picture in the post was not that of the Russian tank that was recently seized by Ukrainians.
While the photograph appeared to show a Russian T-72 tank, the picture has been online since at least 2010.
While this eBay listing isn’t real, Ukrainians have truly taken possession of several Russian tanks that were abandoned during the country’s attack on Ukraine. A number of videos have circulated online showing farming tractors towing these heavy pieces of military equipment down the street.
Ukraine’s National Agency for the Protection (NAPC) stated on its website that ‘property acquired in battle’ from the start of the Russian invasion was equal to ‘scrap’ of no claimable value.
‘Have you captured a Russian tank or armored personnel carrier and are worried about how to declare it? Keep calm and continue to defend the Motherland! There is no need to declare the captured Russian tanks and other equipment, because the cost of this … does not exceed 100 living wages (UAH 248,100),’ said a statement from the NAPC via Interfax Ukraine.
While this isn’t the first piece of fake news to come from the conflict, we suspect there will be more to come. Either way, Russian tanks seem to be hot commodity with Anonymous offering a Bitcoin bounty to Russian troops who surrender their tanks.
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