DISINFO: Zelenskyy's behaviour at the Munich Security Conference shows that he is a drug addict
SUMMARY
The leader of the Kyiv regime [Zelenskyy] appeared [at the Munich Security Conference] with strange expressions [...] moving his eyes from one point to another, randomly changing the position of his hands and head, as well as his facial expressions, where he opens and closes his mouth. Will it once again be denied what everyone sees with the naked eye? [...] Zelenskyy is on drugs, to which he has developed an incurable addiction.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aiming to defame Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.
This accusation is part of a long-term ongoing pro-Kremlin disinformation campaign that relies on doctored videos and outright fabrications to claim that the Ukrainian president is a drug addict. These doctored videos, often appearing in pro-Kremlin accounts and outlets, have been used to defame President Zelenskyy for years.
For example, a 2019 interview by Zelenskyy was edited in 2022 to make it look like that he is admitting to taking cocaine. In the original video, he actually denies drug use and simply discusses his morning routine of sports and coffee. Another case involved a video that was altered to show fake white powder on his desk claiming that it was cocaine.
In yet another attempt to advance this disinformation campaign, a video was modified to make it appear as if there was cocaine on his desk. However, the "cocaine" was nothing more than a reflection of light and embossed golden lines, which are visible in other images of his office. The video's quality was deliberately degraded to make such details harder to see.
See similar cases that drugs have become a pillar of Ukraine’s statehood, that European taxpayers finance cocaine and Zelensky's luxury villas, and that French studio releases animation series denouncing Zelenskyy's blood thirst.