Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has not called for a nuclear strike on Russia. Speaking online at the Australian Lowy Institute in October of last year, Zelensky pointed out that NATO needs to reconsider its pressure on Russia in order to deter Moscow from using nuclear weapons. The “preemptive actions” the Ukrainian President referred to are additional sanctions and military assistance to Ukraine, something Zelensky has insisted on well before Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2023.
Online discussions are abuzz with claims that President Zelensky allegedly suggested that NATO launch “preemptive nuclear strikes” against Russia. These fake stories are being massively disseminated in the French segment of Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and YouTube. Propagators of this fake quote an episode from Zelensky’s online speech at the Australian Lowy Institute on October 6, 2022 (22:30).
The short video accompanying the fake publications, features Zelensky’s words that NATO needs to launch “preemptive strikes” on Russia in order to deter it from using nuclear weapons. Russian media and government officials immediately declared that this is “a call for beginning a world war with unpredictable and horrific consequences.”
In fact, President Zelensky did not call for a nuclear strike against Russia. He spoke about the need for the international community to take “preventive actions” to deter Russia from potentially using nuclear weapons in its war against Ukraine. On the day that Zelensky addressed the Lowy Institute, his press secretary Serhiy Nikiforov explained: “The President spoke about the period prior to February 24th. Then it was necessary to apply preventive measures in order not to allow Russia to unleash this war.” Presidential Office adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, also pointed out when speaking about NATO “preventive actions” Zelensky meant sanctions against Russia and military aid for Ukraine.
Nevertheless, some French social media accounts have again begun disseminating this disinformation, without indicating that it refers to Zelensky’s speech of October 6. Many of these posts, both on Facebook and Twitter are accompanied by the same text:
“Zélensky demande à l’OTAN une “frappe préventive” (on comprend bien “nucléaire”) contre la Russie. Combien de temps des médias et politiciens français vont-ils continuer à soutenir ce malade?” (“Zelensky asks NATO for a “preemptive strike” (we understand “nuclear”) against Russia. How long will the French media and politicians continue to support this patient?” – translation ed.)
French essayist and political activist Laurent Ozon was one of the first to tweet this on his Twitter account. At the same time, Laurent Ozon blocked from his post user comments that pointed the video was from October of last year.
Following Ozon’s February 2, 2023 tweet demanding “How long will the French media and politicians continue to support this patient?”, other social media accounts whose authenticity is questionable (most likely bots and trolls) began to massively disseminate this same call.
Meanwhile, even French media noted Ozon’s fake, pointing out that politicians such as Senator Sylvie Goy-Chavent, who is a member of the French Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Committee and PACE, fell for the fake and reposted it. French state-owned international news television network France 24 thoroughly debunked thisZ fake story in a February 7 article on the network’s website.
This is not the first time that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been attacked by foreign Internet trolls. StopFake has previously refuted a fake claiming that Zelensky’s fortune is allegedly estimated at $850 million.
You can also read this story in French.
