
Fact Check: Photo of a suited Zelenskiy at WEF summit predates Ukraine war
VERDICT: Misleading. The image was taken in January 2020, two years before Russia invaded Ukraine and Zelenskiy ditched suits for wartime attire.
VERDICT: Misleading. The image was taken in January 2020, two years before Russia invaded Ukraine and Zelenskiy ditched suits for wartime attire.
Users are now sharing a viral video claiming to show crisis actors faking injuries for the Ukrainian army in order to "solicit" more money from allies. We debunk these claims in this edition of Truth or Fake.
Neither the Wall Street Journal nor AMVETS have reported such information. The U.S. has no authority to prosecute a foreign leader because of sovereign immunity.
As President Donald Trump has sought to secure rights to Ukraine's minerals as compensation for U.S. aid to fight the Russian invasion, he has repeatedly overstated the amount of aid provided by the U.S. compared with Europe and exaggerated the extent to which European assistance - unlike U.S. aid - is in the form of guaranteed loans.
The Facebook page of a Ukrainian military recruitment center offered context after users responded angrily to the video. [... T]he post's author alleged the man walking the dog had repeatedly attempted to avoid military service. If he was of eligible age, such avoidance would violate a 2024 Ukrainian law requiring men between 18 and 60 to register for service and always carry registration documents on their person. The law stated only men aged 25 to 60 remain eligible for mobilization, though Ukrainian officials also explored reforms for younger men.
The post also said one of the officials visible in the video accompanied the man's dog back to its owner's home, and that, due to the man's love of his pet, they assigned him to one of the military's canine units. The post provided no further information or evidence to support its claims, and the center had not yet respond to an emailed request for comment.
According to Norwegian news reports, Haltbakk Bunkers, a Norwegian oil and shipping company, indeed posted on Facebook after the Zelenskyy-Trump meeting that it would no longer supply American forces in Norway. However, that post was later deleted for reasons that were unknown. We've reached out to the company to independently verify the Norwegian news outlets' reporting and are waiting for a response.
In other words, there was no primary evidence to confirm the alleged Facebook post by Haltbakk Bunkers, which said it had stopped providing fuel to American ships. Furthermore, it was unclear whether, or how many, ships were affected by the purported decision.
Claim: Former President of Poland Lech Wałęsa wrote a letter to Donald Trump criticizing the U.S. President's decision to suspend the delivery of all U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
Rating: True
Claim: A photograph authentically showed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska posing in front of stacks of money.
Rating: Fake
However, Zelenskyy did not use any expletives about Trump when speaking to journalists during the walk from his motorcade to greet Starmer. The claim is false. Further, the video exhibited potential signs that its originator used an artificial-intelligence tool to create many of its elements.
An unedited video (archived) showing the same moment featured an unidentified reporter asking, "Mr. President, how was the trip? How do you feel?," and Zelenskyy responding, "Ok. Thank you so much."
Claim: Volodymyr Zelenskyy wore a suit while meeting Emmanuel Macron and Klaus Schwab, but opted for a non-formal sweatshirt during his visit to the Oval Office.
Fact: Photos of Zelenskyy with Macron and Schwab were taken prior to the Russian invasion of February 2022.