A photo of the NATO Summit 2023 is getting viral on social media platforms. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can be seen standing alone in this photo while other participants are busy greeting and meeting with each other at the NATO summit in Vilnius. The viral photo has raised several questions regarding Zelensky’s position and his involvement in discussions with other world leaders during this summit. Not only this, but the viral photo has also triggered some speculations related to Ukraine’s role within NATO.
Well-known website WION posted a picture on Twitter from its account with the caption: “A photo of Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelensky standing alone as other participants at the NATOSummit in Vilnius talk to each other goes viral. Can you caption this?”
An account of a digital and media news company named FRONTAL WARRIOR also posted the same picture on Twitter with the title: “A photo of Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelensky standing alone as other participants at the NATOSummit in Vilnius talk to each other goes viral”.
Furthermore, other users also shared the same photo with the same caption.
Fact-Check
To know the reality of this viral photo, the Dfrac team has searched some keywords related to this picture on Google. We found some media reports during this process. According to those media reports, If we closely look at the photo, we can see Zelensky’s wife Olena Zelenska walking a few steps apart from him to greet another female leader present at the NATO summit.
A News website named Free Press Journal published news with the headline: “Viral Photo: Was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Left Alone At NATO Summit?”. In this news, Free Press Journal revealed: “ When the two women exchanged a courteous handshake, the frame at the moment saw Zelensky standing alone, making people think that not many welcomed his presence there”.
Apart from this viral picture, Zelensky and Olena are seen greeting French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron. Another picture shows the Ukrainian President receiving a welcome hug from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Conclusion
It is clear from Dfrac’s Fact-Check that the viral picture showing the Ukrainian president standing alone at the NATO summit is misleading since the picture was clicked at that moment when Zelensky’s wife Olena Zelenska walked a few steps apart from him to greet a female leader at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Moreover, NATO leaders have decided to provide Ukraine with more military assistance for fighting Russia.
