DISINFO: Zelenskyy fled Kyiv but was forced to return by the West
SUMMARY
Zelenskyy fled Kyiv and he was headed for the Polish border. However, he was forced to return. The West did not allow Zelenskyy to escape from Kyiv during Russian strikes on the territory of Ukraine.
RESPONSE
Unfounded pro-Kremlin disinformation intended to discredit the Ukrainian President. No evidence given to support the claim.
The disinformation appeared in the context of Russia’s new wave of violent airstrikes carried out throughout Ukraine on October 10th, targeting multiple cities, including the capital. It was first claimed by the pro-Kremlin outlets, citing the former Ukrainian Rada MP Illia Kyva, that Zelenskyy fled Kyiv and he was headed for the Polish border. However, shortly after Zelenskyy uploaded a video address, taken in the vicinity of the presidential palace, proving that he remains in Kyiv. This prompted the pro-Kremlin media to twist their disinfo claim, alleging that the President of Ukraine was forced to return, that the West did not allow Zelenskyy to escape from Kyiv.
In reality, videos of Zelenskyy released on October 10th, as well as his meeting with the US ambassador in Kyiv, prove that the president remained in Kyiv, therefore, claims that Zelenskyy fled Kyiv and then was forced to return back are groundless.
Read the full debunk of this disinformation at Myth Detector.