Russian propaganda spreads fakes about Zelensky’s visit to Kupiansk

To spread disinformation, Russian propagandists used old footage from 2022.

Russian propaganda media outlets, including TASS, are circulating claims that a selfie and video of President Volodymyr Zelensky near the stele in Kupiansk, recorded on December 12, are fake. Propagandists allege that the video was either filmed in advance or is a deepfake.

This is false. The primary source of the claim is the Russian state news agency TASS. Their assertion is based on statements by former Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) officer and collaborator Vasyl Prozorov. The propagandist provides no evidence and merely voices his own speculation.

In 2019, Prozorov fled to Moscow, where he began spreading disinformation about Ukraine, including claims of Ukraine’s alleged involvement in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 and supposed U.S. “biological weapons tests” in Ukraine.

In Russia, he established a propaganda network of Telegram channels called UkrLeaks, which focuses on spreading disinformation about Ukraine.

Last year, an assassination attempt was carried out against the collaborator in Moscow.

In addition, Russian Telegram channels are spreading claims that Volodymyr Zelensky did not actually visit Kupiansk and that the video was allegedly filmed using chroma key technology. As “evidence,” propagandists presented a video showing the President of Ukraine in a filming studio. They claim that the video near the stele was supposedly recorded at the American studio Lucasfilm, where Star Wars was filmed.

This is also false. The original video was published on the Founders Forum YouTube channel as early as June 28, 2022. It shows the process of creating a hologram of Volodymyr Zelensky in a Kyiv studio with a green screen. The video is titled “Behind the scenes: President Zelensky’s holographic and augmented address to the European tech community.”

The hologram was created for Zelensky’s address to participants of four technology festivals in Europe on June 15, 2022. Evercoast, the company that produced the hologram, also showcased this project as an example of augmented reality. This has nothing to do with Zelensky’s trip to Kupiansk in December 2025 or with his video address from the front line.

It should be noted that Russians had already used this same video to create a fake at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, when they attempted to “prove” that Volodymyr Zelensky had allegedly fled Ukraine. At that time, the video was circulated by former MP-turned-traitor Illia Kyva.

It should be emphasized that the video of President Zelensky, who visited Kupiansk on December 12 as part of a working trip, is not staged. He recorded a video address directly in the combat zone, with explosions audible in the background, and thanked Ukrainian soldiers for their service.

Zelensky also visited the forward command post of the 14th Mechanized Brigade in Kupiansk.

Thus, this concerns a series of official visits and events confirmed by photo and video materials, including those from independent media, which refute Russian claims of a “staged” visit.

These fakes are part of a crisis-response disinformation effort aimed at reinforcing Russia’s false claims of control over Kupiansk, which Vladimir Putin had previously asserted.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, Russian propaganda earlier spread a fake about the alleged “flight” of local Ukrainian officials from Kherson.

Andrii Olenin