Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “has surrendered.”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. (AP)
No, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hasn’t surrendered to Russia
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There are no credible reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has surrendered to Russia.
More than 20 months into the Russia-Ukraine war, social media users are claiming the fighting has suddenly stopped.
A Nov. 4 Instagram post shared a screenshot of an X post with a black-and-white photo of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Text above the photo read, "Zelensky has surrendered. Ukraine has fallen. Israel is next."
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
(Screengrab from Instagram)
The original post on X was flagged by the social media platform’s Community Notes feature, which allows readers to add brief context to posts they view as misleading.
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There is no evidence that Zelenskyy has ordered the Ukrainian military to surrender to Russia, and we found no credible reports supporting this claim.
This is not the first time a claim like this has spread. In March 2022, less than one month after Russia began its invasion, a deepfake video of Zelenskyy calling for Ukrainian troops to lay down their weapons circulated online.
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Zelenskyy himself has rejected the idea of conceding to Russia. In a December 2022 address to the U.S. Congress, Zelenskyy said, "Ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender."
News outlets worldwide continue to report on the Russia-Ukraine war’s developments, and there have been no signs of either side surrendering. On Nov. 5, Zelenskyy dismissed suggestions that the war had reached a stalemate, NBC News reported.
We rate the claim that Zelenskyy has surrendered False.
Our Sources
Instagram post (archived), Nov. 4, 2023
X post, Nov. 4, 2023
NPR, "Deepfake video of Zelenskyy could be 'tip of the iceberg' in info war, experts warn," March 16, 2022
Poynter, "No, President Zelenskyy did not tell Ukrainian soldiers to surrender," April 27, 2022
The Guardian, "Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 621," Nov. 5, 2023
The Associated Press, "Ukrainian officers investigated for holding awards ceremony struck by Russia, killing 19 soldiers," Nov. 6, 2023
The Associated Press, "Zelenskyy: 'We will never surrender'," Dec. 21, 2022
Al Jazeera, "Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 621," Nov. 6, 2023
NBC News, "Russia-Ukraine war not a 'stalemate,' Zelenskyy tells NBC News in exclusive interview," Nov. 5, 2023
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No, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hasn’t surrendered to Russia
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