Russian propaganda fake: Ukraine “preparing assassination” of Trump, seeking to deploy troops in Greenland

Propagandists have forged videos allegedly from the British media outlets Sky News and the BBC to discredit Ukraine.

Russian Telegram channels are circulating a video bearing the logo of the British television channel Sky News. It cites alleged remarks by American essayist of Lebanese origin Nassim Taleb, claiming that “he would bet the Europe would try to kill Donald Trump with the help of Ukrainian special services.”

This is a fake. The video is a fabrication created from images that can be found online. No such video or news item exists on the Sky News website or on the channel’s social media accounts.

Nassim Taleb also never made such a statement. His social media contains no references to any “plans” by Europe or Ukraine to carry out an “assassination” of Trump.

Russian Telegram channels are also spreading a reel bearing the logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly concluded a “secret agreement” with Germany and France to send between 5,000 and 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers without insignia to Greenland to confront the United States. The alleged source cited by the BBC is said to be the investigative journalism platform Bellingcat.

This is also a fake. The propagandists’ video is dated January 16, 2026, but no such videos have been published on the BBC’s YouTube channel or on the media company’s social media platforms.

There are likewise no reports on the official Bellingcat website about any “deployment” of Ukrainian troops to Greenland.

In this way, Russia is exploiting information pretexts related to disputes among Ukraine’s allies over Greenland in order to portray Ukraine negatively and influence relations between Kyiv and Washington.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, Russia earlier spread a fake claim that Danish F-16 fighter jets previously transferred to Ukraine will allegedly be recalled and redeployed to defend Greenland amid U.S. territorial claims over the island.

Andrii Olenin