Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky is in a bunker, while his family is believed to be in a separate bunker in Kyiv, as the Russian army continue to hunt for them over the past two months. Amid this, a report has emerged that Zelensky's elder daughter Oleksandra Zelenska fled to Poland after calling her father a "Nazi."
The claim was made on social media a few days back but fact is that neither did Oleksandra Zelenska call Zelensky a "Nazi" nor did she flee Ukraine. The claims made on social media are simply baseless and an attempt to spread misinformation amid the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia.
Strange Claim
Last week, a photograph started getting circulating online that claims to show the Zelenska, the daughter of Volodymyr Zelensky. The image of the woman shows her crying, with claims being made in multiple languages including Russian and Polish that Zelenska, 17, "hates her father", called him a "Nazi" and "murderer of Ukrainian people."
Claims were also made that she fled Ukraine and took refuge in Poland after calling Zelensky a "Nazi". The claim was also spread by several Russian websites.
However, people saw the headline and took the crying photo of the woman to be true and started believing in the claim. Many also started asking if Zelenska is really in Poland.
Many started believing in the claim as Poland is welcoming refugees from Ukraine and they thought Zelenska is also one among them. However, to put things straight and simple, the claim is completely bogus and baseless, as the photograph is not that of Zelenska.
To make things simpler, the claim is a piece of misinformation likely being spread by anti-Zelensky groups and there. It is also possible that the false claim is being made by Russia as many Russian websites came up with the report and circulated the photo of the crying woman.
No Similarities
The woman in the photo doesn't look like Zelenska at all. A reverse image search reveals that the woman in the photo is most probably a Russian woman in her 20s and not Zelenska at all.
The image was taken from a 2017 video that became viral on the internet. The woman in the video was substantially more aged than Zelenskyy's daughter, who was born in 2004. This video depicts Zelenska when she was 11 years old.
Moreover, the video from which the image of the crying woman is taken is an iPhone conversation between the woman and supposedly her partner. Moreover, the couple in the video speaks Russian rather than Ukrainian, and their conversation is unrelated to Zelensky.
The man who is heard speaking in the video, addresses the woman as Nastya — probably the woman's partner — and he tries to console her. "You promised me the iPhone five months ago and never bought it!" she says.
Also, the photo being circulated comes with the claim that Zelenska had "fled to Poland," which was distributed in Georgian, Spanish, and German, among other languages. However, a sign visible behind the crying woman during the first seconds of the video promotes a house for sale, and the phone number displayed belongs to a real estate agent situated in Sochi, Russia, as determined by DW using the person's WhatsApp and Instagram profiles.
In reality, Zelenska, who is 17 years old now, is with her mother Olena Zelenska. Since the day Russia invaded Ukraine, Zelensky and his family have been a target. However, the Russians have so far failed to capture Zelensky and his family.
The President and the First Lady are reportedly sheltering in two separate bunkers along with their children. Zelenska is reportedly with her mother and nine-year-old brother Kyrylo Zelensky in a bunker in Kyiv.
