Fact Check: Does Military Convoy Footage Show a 'Coup' in Moscow?

Videos of armoured vehicles and Russian soldiers in the streets of Moscow have gone viral and raised the alarm for some regarding what is happening in the country.

As the 8-month conflict between Russia and Ukraine rages on, some have questioned whether soldiers have turned on President Vladimir Putin and are staging a coup.

While it is not the first time in recent months that military vehicles and even ballistic missile launchers have been observed on the streets of the capital, was there really any basis to suspect that a revolution is brewing on the Kremlin's doorstep?

The Claim

Two videos, posted by Twitter user Igor Sushko on Wednesday, appeared to show military vehicles in downtown Moscow, fueling rumors about a purported coup d'etat in Moscow.

Combined, the videos have been viewed more than 190,000 times.

"Military vehicles in downtown Moscow outside the Federation Council for unannounced reasons. Various streets have been blocked off," the videos were captioned.

Another Twitter user, Nadinbrzezinski, shared a video of the vehicles on the street.

"In Moscow, a lot of military personnel arrived in armored vehicles at the Federation Council building," the captioned read.

"Video with a column of military equipment and armored personnel carriers, as well as people with machine guns. Traffic on Bolshaya Dmitrovka is blocked.

"What is happening is unknown. We are waiting for the State Revolution and the shooting of the bunker grandfather."

The appearance of military vehicles also fueled speculation on Russian-language pages and channels, including on Telegram.

The Facts

Despite the concerns raised by some social media users, the footage shows routine military drills. The Kremlin and Russia's State Duma are running drills in preparation for a potential emergency evacuation, as announced previously.

State-run news agency Interfax cited the press service of Russia's Federal Security Service as saying a three-day exercise began on Tuesday and will involve training for suppression of "threats of a terrorist nature" against officials, deputies, senators and key government buildings.

One of the posters of the videos also gave an update later, dismissing the initial narrative that the footage showed the beginning of a coup taking place.

"Update: Military vehicles brought to downtown Moscow for Putin's Federal Protective Service (FSO) training exercises," user Igor Sushko tweeted.

"Might be anti-coup exercises. FSO is considered highly loyal to Putin. They are in charge of protecting Putin and other high-level mafia officials in Russia," he added.

As well as this, Russia informed the United States on Tuesday it would be planning out the annual exercises of its nuclear forces, according to Reuters.

The United States has said it expects Russia to carry out test launches of missiles during these tests. They noted as well that in the past Russia has fired inter-continental ballistic missiles during such drills.

The Ruling

False.

The videos do indeed show Russian military activity in Moscow, but it is simply part of Kremlin-announced drills that are being conducted this week.

FACT CHECK BY Newsweek