Do You Know the Problem With This Piece of Russian Propaganda?

Fostering patriotism among countrymen is paramount for the United Russia party of President Vladimir Putin, which just commissioned a series of billboards to commemorate "Happy Defender of Fatherland Day" -- a holiday dedicated to honoring the Russian Armed Forces.

While the premise may seem well-meaning, there was one rather glaring discrepancy a local blogger noted, however. As it so happens, the picture featured in Putin's nationalistic ad promoting the glory of the Russian military is actually of an Israeli Merkava III tank taken from the Israel Defense Force's official Flickr account.

The photo showcases an exercise by the IDF’s Armored and Engineering Corps.

The Times of Israel noted that an IDF spokesperson is aware of the billboard, but declined to provide additional comments to Russian-language site IzRus. 

Photo source: Official IDF Flickr account.