Russia And Ukraine

Is Nate Vance -- who criticized the Trump administration's reduction of support for Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion -- Vice President JD Vance's cousin? Yes, that's true: Nate Vance is the first cousin of JD Vance. His father, Jim Vance, is the brother of JD Vance's mother, Beverly. Nate Vance detailed the family connection on social media, and online records…

Did former Polish president Lech Wałęsa write a letter to President Donald Trump expressing "fear and distaste" at his February 2025 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy? Yes, that's true: On March 3, 2025, Wałęsa shared these sentiments in a post published on Facebook. An English-translated version of the original post in Polish appeared on Facebook on March 3, 2025,…

Does a video show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying "fuck him" after a reporter asked him about Donald Trump as Zelenskyy entered a meeting with U.K. Prime Minster Keir Starmer? No, that's not true: The video uses a tone to cover a supposed obscenity by Zelenskyy, and the post obscures the word with "F* him" in the caption, but the…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wear a suit in a meeting with Klaus Schwab, World Economic Forum executive chairman, following his February 2025 White House visit in which he wore a black shirt? No, that's not true: This photo of Zelenskyy and Schwab was taken in 2020, two years before Russia invaded Ukraine. Zelenskyy publicly said he would "wear a…

Does a video clip show that soldiers in Ukraine are faking combat for the cameras so they can continue to get U.S. funding? No, that's not true: The video shows behind-the-scenes activity during the filming of a music video. Several of the people featured in the final video are real soldiers. The woman pictured in the behind-the-scenes clip is Mariana…

Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet with a group of Democrats right before heading into the White House Oval Office meeting about the mineral deal on February 28, 2025? No, that's not true: Social media photos show Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham was present in the same room in the Hay-Adams hotel, along with Democrats Amy Klobuchar, Chris Murphy and Chris…

Does a viral image correctly show a transcript of the White House meeting between President Trump, Vice-President Vance and President Zelenskyy that took place on February 28, 2025? No, that's not true: The fake transcript mentions several phrases that were never said in the real meeting according to actual transcripts. Zelenskyy never said "Our cities are burning", "You repeated Putin's…

Did the New York Post report that USAID paid TIME Magazine $4 million to make Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy the 2022 Person of the Year, as a post and video on X.com claimed? No, that's not true: As of this writing, the newspaper's website did not show such a story. A search across a government spending database did not produce…

Did President Donald Trump's eldest son Don Jr. say on his podcast that "the U.S. should have been sending weapons to Russia" instead of Ukraine, as an X post claims? No, that's not true: The episode in question did not contain such a statement. Two AI detectors indicated that the audio in the viral clip was likely a product of…

Was the social media platform Truth Social blocked in Ukraine by the Ukrainian authorities? No, that's not true: Truth Social and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs's spokesperson denied the claim. Both said that the social media platform was never made available in Ukraine. Lead Stories found no credible reports corroborating the viral rumor. The claim appeared in a post…