Latest fact checks & sources

Zelenskyy did say, “The U.S. will have to send their sons and daughters exactly the same way as we are sending [our] sons and daughters to war.” However, he was talking about a hypothetical situation in which Ukraine losing the war against Russia would lead to a broader conflict resulting in Americans being pulled into fighting. He made this statement in February 2023, two years before the exchange with Trump took place.

Misbar investigated the viral claim and found it to be misleading; the image shows Zelenskyy signing bombs intended for use against Russia, not Gaza.

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.

Mark Cancian, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, told us in an email that “Trump’s citation of $350 billion is double what Congress has appropriated.” Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Congress has passed five spending bills to provide support to Ukraine, totaling about $174.2 billion, as we’ve explained before in fact-checking this and other claims Trump has made about Ukraine and Zelenskky. Each of those five measures passed with bipartisan support. […] As for Trump’s claim that Europe provided its aid to Ukraine in the “form of a loan, they get their money back,” that’s an exaggeration. Only a portion of European aid is in the form of loans.

A viral video is circulating on social media in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is allegedly caught on camera calling JD Vance a “bitch” during Friday’s unprecedented diplomatic row at the White House. Also, how many times has Zelensky thanked the United States for its support? We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

There is no evidence that such a meal has actually appeared in Ukraine. The original source of this claim is the Telegram channel of Yulia Vityazeva, the former host of the Russian propaganda programme Solovyov Live. In addition, there is no mention of this dish in any credible source, and the name of the restaurant remains unknown. Furthermore, digital analysis of the image’s flaws suggests that it was most likely artificially generated or altered. All of this suggests that the information is false.

A screenshot from a bookmaker’s website that is being circulated online has been edited.

There is no such word in the dictionary. The screenshot that is being shared online was edited.

This information is fake, as the Wall Street Journal never published such an article, and the screenshot circulating online is a fake.

UNITED24 did not report such information, and neither did any other credible source.

[T]he audio of the available recording of the meeting was not clear enough to prove without doubt what Zelenskyy said, other than that it began with an “s” sound. In other words, it’s possible the Ukrainian president said “suka” – Ukrainian for “b****” – or a term including the word, but it’s also possible that he said something completely different.