Fake video: Zelensky ordered Ukrainian military to leave Avdiivka
Kremlin propaganda is spreading through online media and social networks Telegram and YouTube what appears to be an "urgent address of the Commander-in-Chief." The video clip with the logos of the 1+1 television channel and the United News information telethon shows an alleged address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he announces the alleged withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka.
The video clip is fake. Such an "address" was not posted on the official website of the President of Ukraine or on his official pages on Facebook, X and Instagram.
Also, Zelensky last made a daily video address to the Ukrainian people in a gray T-shirt with the logo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on October 31, 2023. The propagandists used this video to create their fake video clip, adding fake audio and accompanying it with video footage from a military cemetery.
In the original video, the president did not say a word about the possible withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Avdiivka. He only thanked the defenders of the city for their bravery and for repelling the aggressor's attacks. The main topic of the address was security in the Black Sea area.
In the fake video, the facial expression of the head of state does not match the word "address."
It is not the first time that Russian propaganda has used the logos of the 1+1 television channel and the information telethon for information provocations. Propagandists earlier fabricated stories that fallen Ukrainian soldiers would be buried in biodegradable burial pods and that Russian prisoners would be kept in concentration camps.
The Ukrainian military continues to defend Avdiivka. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at least 18 enemy attacks were repelled on the Avdiivka axis on November 15. The enemy's offensive actions near Novokalynove, Avdiivka and east of Pervomaiske in the Donetsk region were unsuccessful.
Andriy Olenin
