Fact Check: Zelenskyy Not Killed in Russian Airstrike
False claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was killed in a Russian airstrike have gone viral. The explosion video is actually from the 2015 Tianjin disaster in China.
Social media posts claiming that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was killed in a Russian airstrike are spreading quickly. The posts include a dramatic video of a massive explosion lighting up a city skyline. A DW fact-check has found these claims to be false.
In reality, the video shows the 2015 Tianjin warehouse explosion in China, which killed 173 people. A reverse image search confirmed its origin. Zelenskyy is alive and well — on June 21, he posted a video on X showing a meeting with OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann. The OECD confirmed the meeting took place.
The claim that Ukrainian media are covering the incident is also false. Major outlets like the Kyiv Post, Kyiv Independent, Ukrainska Pravda, and UNIAN have no such reports.
This is not the first rumor of Zelenskyy's death. A similar claim circulated earlier in June, and in 2022 a pro-Russian campaign falsely reported his suicide. Such disinformation targets other leaders too; in March, many believed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been killed.
Analysis suggests a coordinated bot network is behind these posts. At least 30 accounts shared nearly identical text along with the same video. Half used the phrase "RUSSIAN AERIAL ATTACK" in all caps, and several contained the same typo. The accounts have names like "Russian Army" or "Israel Defense" and post only breaking news or polls to generate engagement.
Disinformation spikes often follow real events. This rumor spread the day after Ukraine attacked Russian targets in Crimea. Such posts aim to elicit emotional responses and manipulate the online information environment, according to analysts.
