Amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a picture of a food truck operated by Sikhs has been doing the rounds on the internet. The claim that is being bandied about with the picture is that Sikhs are operating a ‘Langar’ and serving food to the embattled people in Ukraine in the midst of a war.
In the picture, a food truck could be seen, along with people who are eating food. On the food truck it is written: “Guru Nanak’s Langar, Good Bye Hunger.”
The picture has gone viral on social media platforms, with a large number of netizens, including notable ones, sharing it to highlight how Sikhs are helping feed Ukrainians at a time when their country is under attack from the Russian forces.
Anti-rape activist Yogita Bhayana shared the picture to claim the food truck is being operated in Ukraine.
Similarly, several other social media users took to Twitter to claim that Sikhs have started a ‘Langar’ in war-ravaged Ukraine.
The image went instantly viral on social media websites at a time when the situation on ground in Ukraine is precarious, with people fleeing towards safer locations in the wake of the Russian invasion.
Is the picture of a food truck operated by Sikhs from Ukraine?
Contrary to the claims made by social media that Sikhs are operating a ‘Langar’ through a food truck in Ukraine, it is, in reality, an old picture from Canada that is being passed off as recent.
The picture is of Canada’s first free food truck, launched more than three years ago, in August 2018. The picture was shared by a social media user @WeTheSikhs on 6 August 2018.
“Canada’s first Free Food Truck – Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s LANGAR – Goodbye Hunger. Everybody is welcome here regardless of Faith, Gender, Age, Caste or Status,” the tweet by We The Sikhs said.
Canada’s first Free Food Truck – Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s LANGAR – Goodbye Hunger. Everybody is welcome here regardless of Faith, Gender, Age, Caste or Status.#WeTheSikhs #Langar #GuruNanakDevJi #proudtobesikh pic.twitter.com/9chKbUAy19
— WeTheSikhs (@WeTheSikhs) August 6, 2018
Russia launches ‘military operations’ against Ukraine
On Thursday (February 24), Russian President Vladimir Putin announced limited military operations against Ukraine. In a televised address, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the special operation to be conducted in East Ukraine.
Putin had added explicitly that Moscow did not plan on occupying Ukraine. He said the military action he announced would seek to “demilitarise” and “denazify” Ukraine and came in response to threats from Ukraine.
According to Ukraine’s border guard agency, the Russian military entered the country from neighbouring Belarus. The Russian forces crossed Belarus to enter Ukraine from the North, said Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Northern border forces in Ukraine have come under attack by Russian troops.
On Friday, a day after Russia launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, the President of the Eastern European country, Volodymyr Zelensky, informed on Friday (February 25) that a total of 137 people (including civilians) were killed in Russian military strikes.
