The video, shared widely on X, depicts a fabricated BBC News report of an interview with Zelenskyy, with a painting identified as Paul Cézanne's 'Still Life with Cherries' visible in the background. The original painting was among three works stolen on the night of 22 and 23 March from the Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma, Italy, valued at €9-10 million, according to multiple reports. However, there is no evidence linking any of the stolen pieces to Ukraine or to Zelenskyy personally. The Ukrainian presidency rejected the allegation, stating that claims the stolen painting ever hung in the office are false.
Euronews's fact-checking team confirmed the video is fabricated: the BBC report is entirely fabricated, the voiceover is AI-generated, and visual elements were digitally altered. The manipulated footage is based on an interview recorded three months earlier by the Associated Press. In the authentic footage, the painting behind Zelenskyy is different from the one in the fabricated video. Both paintings visible in the office at the time of the interview were the work of Ukrainian artist Andrii Chebotaru. Chebotaru confirmed that the real painting on Zelenskyy's right depicts Mount Demerdzhi in Crimea, his home region, and that some of his works were given to Zelenskyy as gifts by friends, not purchased directly from the artist.
The video has been linked to a pro-Kremlin disinformation operation known as 'Matryoshka', according to disinformation researchers. In October 2025, Antibot4Navalny brought to light a similar network of accounts that circulated false claims about Ukrainian refugees arrested by French police. This operation is likely connected to Storm-1516, a pro-Russian disinformation operation first identified in December 2023 by Clemson University's Media Forensics Hub. Storm-1516 is an offshoot of the former Internet Research Agency and produces social media videos featuring paid actors and AI-generated fake people, according to research from multiple sources. The group has previously spread false claims that Kamala Harris left a teenager disabled in a hit-and-run accident and that Tim Walz was accused of sexual abuse.
A report by Viginum, released on May 6, 2025, describes Storm-1516's objectives, methodology, and actors. According to Viginum's analysis, the group's main goal is to discredit the Ukrainian government and undermine European public support for military and economic aid to Ukraine. False narratives include claims that Ukraine supports terrorism by recruiting ISIS members and training with Hamas, as reported by multiple research sources.
Russian propaganda has long portrayed Zelenskyy as a neo-Nazi, drug addict, homosexual, corrupt, and profiting from Western aid, according to Kremlin propaganda. Russian state media falsely claimed Zelenskyy trademarked his name to monopolize the funeral industry in Ukraine. In reality, Zelenskyy registered the ZELENSKYY trademark with WIPO in October 2022, which is standard for protecting intellectual property, according to research from multiple sources. A deepfake video of Zelenskyy telling Ukrainians to surrender was taken down by Meta and YouTube, and was described by Nina Schick as crude and easily spotted as fake.
On the military front, Russian forces seized 1,929.69 square kilometers between October 2025 and March 2026, advancing at 10.66 sq km per day, down from 14.9 sq km per day in the previous year, according to the Institute for the Study of War. However, Russian forces captured more than 5,600 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in 2025, the highest since 2022, according to AFP analysis of ISW data. The discrepancy may be due to different time periods and measurement methods. Ukrainian forces liberated over 400 square kilometers in southern Ukraine from late January to mid-March 2026, according to research from multiple sources. Ukrainian counterattacks and mid-range strikes are impeding Russian advances, multiple reports indicate.
Zelenskyy said a US-brokered peace deal is 90% ready, but territory remains unresolved, according to the president. A Russian strike on Kharkiv killed a three-year-old child and wounded at least 19 people, local authorities reported. Russia denied striking Kharkiv, saying its forces did not plan or carry out strikes within city limits, according to the Russian defense ministry.