Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania, has never said anything of the sort.
The Albanian Prime Minister allegedly called Zelensky his friend and thanked him for supplying organs to half the world via the airport in his country’s capital, Tirana — this «news» was immediately published by a number of pro-Russian sources and social media accounts. Despite the absurdity of the statement, a significant part of the audience took it seriously and was outraged that «black organ harvesters» were speaking so openly about their crimes.
However, this news is a complete fabrication. Of course, Edi Rama did not say anything like that — such a quote did not appear in Western, Albanian, or Ukrainian media, but only on several random pro-Kremlin resources without any citation. It is obvious that the Albanian Prime Minister became the target of this fake because of his support for Ukraine: in February 2024, Edi Rama and Volodymyr Zelensky signed a Treaty on Friendship and Cooperation between Ukraine and the Republic of Albania. It provides for mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of trade, economy, science and technology, culture, education, healthcare, media, tourism, and sports. Moreover, the representatives of the states discussed the urgent defence needs of Ukraine and further cooperation in this area, in particular, joint production of weapons.
At this meeting, Rama also noted that the fears of European politicians of supplying weapons to Ukraine to prevent escalation are «cynical and absurd» and emphasized: «Not only the government, parliament or institutions of Albania, but the entire nation, all people remain with Ukraine, support it unwaveringly. And will continue to support Ukraine as long as necessary, until a just peace comes. Albania will always be your home and one of those places where your citizens can feel at home. We expect increased cooperation with you and we await the moment, the day when Ukraine will breathe freely and enjoy peace and sleep without air raids.» The uncompromising support of the Albanian government for Ukraine has made it a target for primitive fakes of Russian propaganda.
The narrative about the so-called «black organ harvesting» in Ukraine and the illegal sale of organs abroad remains one of the favorite tools of Russian propaganda. Read our previous refutations on this topic in the stories Fake: Soldier’s Body from International Legion Was Returned to Colombia Without Internal Organs and Fake: Ukraine Sold More Than Million Liters of Donor Blood Abroad.
