Image of queueing traffic does not show people leaving Crimea over fuel shortages

An image of gridlocked cars on a motorway has been shared with misleading claims it shows a traffic jam of people leaving Crimea over fuel shortages.

The picture has been shared on Facebook with the caption: “Exodus…. The traffic jam to leave Crimea on the last road out has turned into a parking lot, with cars starting to run out of fuel.”

It shows one side of a road filled with queueing traffic, with very few vehicles travelling in the opposite direction.

Although there have been fuel shortages in Russian-occupied Crimea in recent days amid attacks by Ukraine, and reportedly huge queues of cars on the Kerch (Crimean) Bridge, this picture does not show those events.

We matched the image to a moment in a video posted by an Armenian news outlet, with a description stating it depicted a traffic jam in Armenia behind a motorcade for the country’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Additionally, the video was posted on YouTube on 19 April, months prior to the current fuel shortages.

Before sharing content like this which you see on social media, first consider whether it comes from a verifiable and trustworthy source. Our Full Fact toolkit can help you do this.